Underneath The Scars
by Kanemoshi
Summary: Trained to be an emotionless shinobi, Kakashi is not sure how to act when he finds himself in the unfamiliar and unexpected realm of love, but how can he trust his heart to someone who has dark secrets of his own? Kakashi/Iruka Prequel to Scars Fade
1. First Impressions

-1Authoress: Okay…I'm back again with my second Naruto ficlet…even though my first is nowhere near done…/smiles sheepishly/ aight…now…this is a YAOI FIC!…don't like…well…you just suck then…but, as a warning, this is a Kakashi and Iruka pairing…because they're meant for each other…y'know it!

Iruka//blushes/

Authoress: one other thing…this story is actually (somewhat) following the whole Naruto story…yep…/goes in search of her Naruto eppies/ this one'll take some research here…/begins humming the Naruto theme songs (all, like, twenty, of them…)/ I will try my hardest to keep to the actual Chuunin Exam story line here…I really will…even down to watching every episode…but there will be things I add and/or subtract…just because I am GOD in this story! BWAHAHAHAH

Disclaimer: …wah…okay…just don't rub it in anymore…I wasn't born Japanese…or blessed with the ability to draw amazingly well…you're lucky to get a chibi out of me!…and if I did own Naruto…/sighs/ oh, Kakashi would be quite different…in the mask and clothing department…and Sakura would never exist…/growls/ I don't know why…but I just plain don't like her…

Chapter One

(Iruka's POV)

'_Right now they are my soldiers'!…who the hell does he think he is! They are only children!…They can't possibly be ready for the Chuunin exam. Naruto needs much more discipline…Sakura will get hurt…and Sasuke is too self-centered and has too much of an attitude…they'll never survive the exam. _Against my usual calm way of thinking, I inwardly began cursing. I knew the other two rookie teams would have a bit of a chance, but Team 7? _Never…their teamwork is nonexistent…_ I growled softy under my breath as I remembered what that monster had said to me. _Fun to crush them! What kind of sadist did Hokage-sama put them under?_

"Oi, Iruka-sensei…" I couldn't help but cringe when I heard _his_ voice. Turning around slowly, I glared at the smiling jounin. He rubbed the back of his head as he walked closer to me. "Hokage-sama wants _you_ to test the three rookie genin teams in the special preliminary exam…but I already know they will pass. They have improved greatly from when they were your students."

_What a egotistical bastard…from what Naruto's told me, he doesn't do much at all to train their team…_I glared at the Copy-cat Ninja for another moment before using a teleportation jutsu before I lost the little bit of control I still had left and attacked the smug shinobi.

(Kakashi's POV)

"Maa…he didn't have to be so cold…" I mumbled to myself as I watched the last bit of smoke vanish, leaving me alone on the bridge. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, knowing that Iruka was mad at me. Why? I wasn't exactly sure, but from the glares from Kurenai and Asuma, along with the scolding I got from Gai, I guessed it had to be something I said to him. I didn't see the problem with speaking the bare truth to an obviously _outdated_ inferior shinobi. _He still sees them as the students he once had…_I thought as I pulled out my Icha Icha Paradise, smiling underneath my mask as Junto finally proclaimed his love. _Oo…my favorite part…_ All thoughts of a certain scarred chuunin fled my mind as I walked along the bridge's side, humming to myself.

(Iruka's POV)

_Kuso…he _was_ right…they all have improved greatly…_I sighed as I sat down on my bed and stared at my hands. _Especially Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto…they easily defeated my clones…I probably should have made it harder for them…just to see Kakashi proven wrong. _My eyes widened as I shook my head. I would never deliberately put any of my former students in harm's way in order to prove a point to a jounin. _And a lazy, sadistic, emotionless, bastard of a jounin at that…_I grumbled inwardly as I laid down and looked up at the ceiling of my bedroom. _Tomorrow…they'll begin taking the first test…I hope they do as well as Kakashi thinks they will…as much as I want him to be wrong…_

_Onegai…Kami-sama…don't let them fail…like my team did…_

(Kakashi's POV)

I smiled to myself as I walked down the Ninja Academy's long hallways. _And to think I was worrying about those three for a moment…_ Naruto's proud-and stupid-declaration still was ringing in my ears, which caused my eye to curve upwards. _I should have known he'd say something like that…'I'm not going to lose to any of you'? I'm sure with his unique abilities…and stubbornness…he might just succeed in that…or die trying…_I added morbidly. I sighed, remembering that Asuma had told me who the first examiner was. _That sadist…a pro at torture and interrogation…Naruto has no chance of standing up against that…I wonder what the outcome will be. _I couldn't stop my eye from twitching at the thought of Naruto actually _passing_ whatever torturous test Ibiki thought of. I took a deep breath and glanced up when I felt a certain chakra. _It's him…_ I studied the chuunin for a moment, knowing that he probably didn't realize I was mere feet behind him. Yet today must have been 'surprise Kakashi' day.

"They are taking the first exam…with Ibiki-sensei, ne?" Iruka asked softly as he turned around to look at me. I couldn't help but smile at the small chuunin in attempts to hide my amazement. I had my chakra completely masked, an old instinct that I still couldn't get rid of, and didn't make a single sound as I walked towards him. _How did he know I was there?_ I wondered to myself as I watched Iruka shifted his weight onto one leg, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. There was something about him that was different from the other shinobi I knew. Perhaps it was that unhidden attempt at a smile that had aroused my sudden curiosity.

"I guess…" I studied the tan man for a moment, then realized what it was that was different about Iruka. He wasn't worrying about anything. _And people call me carefree…he's not the least bit worried that Ibiki's the examiner…and he was so worried about Naruto and the others before?_ "I wonder if they'll pass…"

"Of course they will…" Iruka's lips turned fully upwards as he looked away. "If there's anything I've learned about those three is that they're all too stubborn to give up…to give into mental torture…" He turned back to look at me with a complete smile on his scarred face. "…they may not become chuunin this time…but they will do their best…and make their sensei proud…"

If I wasn't wearing a mask, Iruka would have seen my mouth gaping open. The young man, the one who treated me as if I had a plague only a few days before, actually had (in a roundabout way) complemented me. _Heh…I wonder what made him change his mind about me…_

"You were right, Kakashi-sensei…I should have given those three more credit…I guess I should apologize for arguing against your decision…" Iruka said softly. "If you don't mind…can I be the one who tells them they passed the second exam?"

_Usually that job is picked randomly between the Chuunins…but he has so much faith in them…_ "Un…but you might have to ask Anko too…" I scratched the back of my head, trying to think of something to say to the, now, grinning shinobi. I felt my cheeks warm up as I watched him for a moment. _He's…beautiful…_

I lowered my gaze to the ground, which was actually hard considering my eyes had begun to have a mind of their own. Iruka's lower body had caught my attention for so many perverted reasons. I so wanted to study Iruka-his face, his body…every aspect that my natural eye could catch a glimpse of in that moment-but forced my rebellious eye to gaze at the tiles on the floor. I waited until I heard the soft tapping of his sandals on the floor, becoming fainter as he walked away from me. I glanced up quickly, catching Iruka turning his head for a moment. There was something…inviting in his eyes that made me wonder if the teacher was actually _flirting _with me. I inwardly shook my head. I had heard many things about the chuunin and being gay wasn't one of them. _Too bad…_I thought to myself as I smiled and waved at the brunette, smiling when I noticed a pink tint to his cheeks as he turned his head back and all but sprinted down the rest of the corridor.

(Iruka's POV)

"Iruka-sensei, it's unusual for you to have a change of heart," the Hokage commented as he glanced towards me. I sighed as I looked over at the smiling old man. It continued to amaze me that this old man was the greatest ninja (alive) in our village and I couldn't stop myself from snicker when I remembered all the times I, and Naruto, got the better of him.

"What are you talking about, Hokage-sama?" I asked before I covered my mouth to stop from snickering. The old man was always like a father to me-even before my parents were killed by the Kyuubi-and, even now that I was an adult, he still treated me like a son. I reminded myself that the Hokage treated all people of the village like his children, but more so with the shinobi.

"Kakashi…I heard from someone that you were talking to him a few days ago…" the old man stated, his tone suggesting that he knew more than just that. I glanced over at him and shook my head at the grin I got in return. "Iruka…it's about time you made some friends outside of the academy. As much as I hate to say it, Kakashi would be good for you."

"Hate to say it?" I repeated curiously, instantly regretting my question when I saw the noticeable twitch of the old man's eye. From the huff he let out, I knew that Kakashi must live up to his lazy reputation. "Is that why you gave him Naruto?"

"Hai…I would have rather had you take those three…" the Hokage said simply with a knowing look in his eyes. "Iruka…my offer still stands. Just say 'yes' and you'll be promoted to jounin."

"I don't _want_ to be a jounin, Hokage-sama. Gomen…demo…I prefer teaching to S-rank missions…" I replied truthfully. It had been over three years since I had first been offered the honored position of jounin, but I always used that sole excuse. _I love teaching more…but that's not the entire reason…_I retorted inwardly. The other part of my reasoning was that I knew I would never _survive_ an upper-ranked mission. I had abilities that were passed down through my family-ones I was ashamed to say I had yet to perfect-that could aid me in a mission, but I also had the one thing no true shinobi should…emotions. It had always hurt me to know that, no matter how hard I trained, I could never remove my emotions, that I could never be strong enough to endure a life of killing. Every year, when I went to pray at my parents' graves, I nearly break down all over again. They died when using their Bloodline Limits…in order to protect the village, but in doing that, they left a child alone to meddle with his own abilities, but to never know his full potential, let alone reach it. I glanced over at the old man and sighed when I saw his disapproving expression. "What do you want me to say, Hokage-sama?"

"Iruka…I want you to start training again…and accept the jounin position. I will never send you on a mission unless you agree to go on it…and if this period of peace lasts, you can keep your teaching position in the academy. Nothing would please this village more than to know our children are being taught by a jounin who proved his was worthy of that title when he was still a teen." I sighed, but bit my tongue at the retort I was about to let out. The Hokage nodded his head in understanding of my unspoken thought. "Iruka, I have already arranged training sessions for you with Gai-sensei. I couldn't help but notice you taijutsu is quite rusty…"

I couldn't stop my mouth from gaping open. Not only had the old man decided what I would do from now on…he had decided my new fate was with _Gai_. Not that I had a thing against the overzealous man…but it was just _that_. He was overzealous to the point of being frightening to almost everyone. I plastered a smile on my face as I nodded my head. Gai was a taijutsu master and I _had _been hoping to work on my taijutsu since that battle with Mizuki, but never got around to it. I had been procrastinating for months, but inwardly was glad that the Hokage finally made the decision for me.

"Arigatou, Hokage-sama."

"I guess Kakashi was right…those three were ready for the Chuunin Exams," the Hokage commented as he glanced at a nearby screen. His smile was nothing in comparison to the grin I had on as I swelled with pride. _Naruto…Sasuke…Sakura…you've passed. I guess I shouldn't have judged Kakashi-san so harshly…_

/\\

(Kakashi's POV)

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Maa?" I turned around to look for the person calling my name. The voice sounded familiar, but, oddly enough, I couldn't immediately put a face to it. Seeing the tan Chuunin waving to me, I smiled knowing that Iruka couldn't see it. _Kawaii_…I thought to myself as I studied the shorter shinobi standing a few feet away from me as he tried picking up bags from a stall's counter. After watching his attempt at balancing the three heavy looking bags, I sighed and walked over to him. "Yo, Iruka-sensei."

"Hello…" Iruka before he huffed and tried again to carry all three bags in one arm. I looked at his other hand and noticed it was tightly wrapped in white bandages. _Injured? But he doesn't go on missions…_I thought to myself, but banished the idea of missions being the culprit when I saw how tired the chuunin looked. If it was a mission that did this to him, the Hokage would have had a medical team treat him and he'd still be in their care right now. Doing something that went against my twisted mind, I put away my Icha Icha Paradise and picked up two of the bags. Iruka made a odd squeak, which I guessed could be considered a protest, but I silenced him with the upturn of my eye.

"Where to, Iruka-sensei?" I asked as I took a glance at the almost unnoticeable blush on Iruka's scarred cheeks as he picked up the third bag. I was dying to ask about his arm, but from the way he hid it behind his back as we started walking, I guessed he didn't want to talk about it. We walked in an awkward silence for a few minutes, the sounds of a bustling village filling in the void where there should have been conversation. As soon as we exited the busier part of Konoha, I took quick glances at Iruka while trying to think of something to say to the young man.

As if he heard my thoughts, Iruka coughed and glanced over at me. "H-How is Sasuke-kun's training going?" he asked softly as his eyes shifted to the ground. I smiled at the chuunin, trying to think of something to say.

"…he's learning a new jutsu…and can use the Sharingan much more efficiently now…" I replied coolly as I watched for a reaction from the scarred chuunin. A pleased expression crossed his face before he looked away again and sighed.

"And Ebisu's training with Naruto is going nowhere…they hate each other…" he said sadly as he shifted the bag's weight on his hip. I nodded my head. _It's training for both of them…Ebisu needs to learn that he has to deal with Naruto's existence…and Naruto just needs to learn…_I stated inwardly as I curved my eye upwards and snickered. "Nani?"

My smile faltered when I heard a _poof_ and, being the always cautious type, went in search of the noise that sounded like a henge no jutsu. I froze when I found something far more interesting than a simple henge no jutsu. Chuckling, I rested my head against a wooden fence and peeked through the space between two boards. I could hear Iruka sighing heavily as we heard the sound of someone screaming, which was quickly followed by something falling in water. My eyes remained fixated on the cute girl standing in front of an old man, completely nude. I couldn't help myself as I let out a perverted snicker. Iruka merely cursed quietly as he turned away from the old man who was, literally, set aflame by the girl's beauty.

(A/N: that lil' thing Kakashi's looking at was in episode 53, when Jiraiya discovers the 'Sexy no jutsu'….that screaming/falling in water sound was Ebisu…flying through the air and falling in a well from his nosebleed…yeaaa…I have a lot of time to do research…)

"I LIKE YOU! You pass!" the old man screamed as he held up '100 points' signs. I felt something against my back, but didn't turn around to look at what it was until I noticed the girl and old man were getting smaller…as was my peeping hole. I turned around to find Iruka dragging me by the back of my jacket with his injured hand. I tried to hear what he was mumbling, but all I got out of it was 'Naruto' and 'worthless.'

_Naruto's worthless? What would that have to do with that cute girl?_ I wondered as I studied Iruka as he continued to pull me away from the fence. I made a sad attempt to free myself and return to my peeping, but couldn't do much considering my movements were being constricted by the two bags. "Maa…Iruka-sensei!" I pleaded as I tried to dig my feet into the ground, but discovered that Iruka had actually lifted me a few inches into the air and no amount of stretching would allow my feet to touch the ground. _Such strength…with an injured arm? And he was able to restrict my movements…he isn't an ordinary chuunin_, I thought to myself as I studied the teacher and noticed the vein popping out of his forehead.

"All of you…perverts…" he said quietly as he turned a corner and, sadly, the fence was out of my sight. I sniffled as people began to stare in our direction. _If Asuma or Kurenai sees me now…not to mention Gai…_I wriggled again, hoping Iruka would let me go now that we were no longer near the girl. He did let me go, but his fingers reluctantly unwrapped themselves from my jacket as soon as I felt solid ground underneath my feet. _Amazing…he is able to restrain a person with a single hand…teaching children must be harder than I thought…_I thought to myself, but then remembered when I first met my Genin team. I smiled and watched Iruka stomp a few feet away from me, but then stopped and waited until I caught up with him. By then, the vein on his forehead was gone and his usual calm expression was in place.

"Iruka-sensei…I'm not a pervert…" I protested as I fell into step with the, still, stomping chuunin. His strides were almost as long as mine usually were, which was surprising considering his shorter legs. He glared at me, a look of obvious disbelief in his eyes. _Who was that girl…and why was she talking to Jiraiya-sama…_

"I'm a super pervert!" a male voice (A/N: Ah, the wonders of Jiraiya) cried from the direction of that lovely fence and I couldn't help but agree with the man. Not that I would admit it to Iruka, or anyone else for that matter, but ninety-nine percent of what went through my mind, at any moment, had to deal with sex or something close to it. That other single percent went towards my breathing and other life-functions.

"Iruka-sensei…do you know who that cute girl was?" I asked curiously and noticed Iruka's shoulders tensed as soon as I said 'girl.' Wanting to know why he had such a reaction, I took a few quick steps so I could see his face clearly. "Who was she?"

"…" Seeing Iruka's face now, I could tell his shoulders hadn't tensed up in anger, but from laughter. He covered his mouth with his injured hand as he continued walking, keeping his eyes to the ground. _What is he laughing about?_ I wondered as I studied him.

"Who was she?" I asked again, noticing that this time, Iruka couldn't hold back a snicker as he looked up at me for an instant. For that moment when my eye met his brown ones, a strange feeling began in my stomach as my face warmed up. From the change in his attitude, from slight snickering to outright chuckling, he somehow knew I was blushing furiously underneath my mask.

"Na…ruto," he replied between his fits of, what was to me, addictive laughter. I smiled underneath my mask as I furrowed my eyebrows. _Naruto?_ I could see Iruka smiled under his bandaged hand, which led me to assume he knew I was confused. "That girl…was a jutsu of Naruto's…the Sexy no Jutsu…is what he's named it…" He took his hand away from his mouth long enough for me to see his beautiful smile and discover that I wanted to see it again. "Even Hokage-sama couldn't beat that…"

"And what about you?" I asked as soon as the thought of the Hokage being defeating by _anything_, let alone a trick of Naruto's, sunk in. Iruka's eyes widened and he looked away, his blush rivaling my hidden one. "Ah…so Iruka-sensei is a pervert too…" I commented, feigning seriousness, but dropped my act when I heard Iruka _giggling_.

"Iie…he caught me off-guard!" Iruka retorted, his blush turning violently red as he looked away from me and turned into a deserted street. I studied a few of the buildings, noticing that they were apartments, and that they weren't something that I would have expected from the academy teacher. Teaching paid _very _well in Konoha (mostly because no one wanted to deal with a bunch of energetic children throwing shuriken everywhere), but here I was, standing in front of a large, shabby apartment complex. The fact that the sun was going down right now, creating eerie shadows didn't help matters much.

Iruka began walking up a flight of stairs and waited until I followed him up the rickety steps before pulling a small key out of his chuunin vest and opening one of the doors. I watched the chuunin walk into a small, unlit room and place the bag onto a table near the door. "You can come in, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka commented as he turned around to look at me, the blush gone from his cheeks. My first impression of the apartment was negative, but as I walked into the small room, my eye widened. The small room I was standing in had two separate corridors leading from it along with several doors. Iruka closed the door behind me and I almost jumped at the loud _bang_ that created. He didn't notice my jumpy movements as he picked up his bag and led me down the first corridor, which ended in one of the largest rooms I had ever seen in an apartment. Unlike the outside of the apartment, this room was very pleasant looking--like it had been lived in. A long table separated the room into two halves, a tidy kitchen and a living room. The kitchen didn't catch my attention-probably since I had no idea how to cook-but I was quick to begin studying the other half of the room, surprised to see that there wasn't a single book or scroll in sight. I couldn't even see any weapon in the room, which was very unusual for a shinobi's home. Even in my own apartment, I had several pouches of kunai and shuriken, scrolls, and various traps in each room, and I hardly even was there except to find a change of clothing when my own was torn enough for it to be called 'indecent exposure' if I was to go out in public.

I set down the two bags on a table in the kitchen and waited for Iruka to start putting them away before turning away from him long enough to uncover my Sharingan. Using both eyes, I studied the rooms a second time, but after a minute, came to the same conclusion. Iruka was completely unprotected in the apartment. I readjusted my hitai-ate so that it covered my eye again before turning back to look at Iruka, who was placing a few boxes into a cabinet above his head. I studied him for a moment, noticing that he wasn't worried in the least. He was being so careless, it was almost cute. I smiled underneath my mask, realizing how different we were. In fact, we were complete opposites. Iruka was so trusting of everyone and went about the room without any noticeable caution while I, on the other hand, jumped at the sound of his door closing before and, even now, felt as if an enemy may attack at any moment. At that thought, a wave of worry for the chuunin flooded over me and I was amazed at the intensity of my own feelings. I had always cared for another shinobi's well-being, but seeing how calm Iruka was, I had the sudden urge to protect him. No shinobi should be that relaxed when he was unprotected and open to any attack.

"Kakashi-sensei…you can stop worrying about the house's defenses. I'm completely safe here…" Iruka commented without even turning to look at me. My mouth dropped open as I wondered how he knew what was going through my head at that exact moment. _A Bloodline Limit? Iie…_ "I could feel you activated your Sharingan…"

_He is no ordinary chuunin…very few _jounin_ can tell when I'm using the Sharingan unless they're watching me use it…_I studied Iruka for a moment, wondering how he could have known when he still had his back to me. I was about to ask how he knew, but the thought slipped from my mind when I saw Iruka grab a nearby counter and clutch it while his knuckles turned white and he lowered his head. I knew exactly what was happening to the small chuunin when I recognized the symptoms, having gone through a few dizzy spells myself. I took a step towards the paling man but increased my speed when I saw him loosen his grip on the counter. I caught him before his legs gave out completely and held him against my chest for a moment before lifting up his limp body in my arms and carrying him to one of the couches in the living room.

I was careful to lay him down gently on the cushion before I mentally flipped out. _His chakra levels are normal…I would have noticed if he was loosing too much blood…why did he pass out?_ I wondered as I studied the chuunin's face. He was covered in sweat, but as I felt the alarmingly pale skin of his cheeks and neck, I discovered his temperature was normal. _People don't pass out without reason…could his injury be that bad?_ I wondered as I studied his bandaged arm. The bandages were still immaculately white, so I tried thinking of another reason as to why Iruka was unconscious on his couch. I gently lifted his head and untied his hiai-ate. I removed the metal plate and set it down on a small table next to the couch, then looked back down at Iruka. His eyes fluttered for a moment, then opened. His brown eyes shifted around as his eyebrows furrowed and his gaze finally landed on me.

"Ka…kasha-sensei?" He asked curiously as he sat up, but I gently pushed him back down when I saw his face pale again. He looked up at me and sighed. "Gomen…"

"What are you apologizing for, Iruka-sensei?" I asked, smiling as I readjusted a pillow under his head. He frowned and I couldn't stop myself from inwardly smirking. _He looks so cute when he frowns…_I thought to myself as I slowly stood up. _Cold compress…_I reminded myself as I strengthened my resolve. _Iruka isn't cute…he's a shinobi…who's ill right now!_

"I didn't mean to pass out on you, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka replied softly as I felt his eyes follow me as I went in search of a towel, which happened to be neatly folded in a drawer under the sink. I turned on the cold water and began soaking the soft white material as I looked at the back of the couch, wondering if Iruka was blushing on the other side of it right now.

"Maa…you almost gave me a heart attack, Iruka-sensei," I stated truthfully as I turned off the water and rung out the towel, then walked back towards the man. As soon as I got close enough to see the chuunin's face over the couch's high back, I could see he was smirking.

"You must have a lot of those with Naruto and Sasuke around each other…" Iruka commented as he gratefully took the wet towel from me and folded it. I watched silently, with a smile on my face, as the chuunin placed it on his forehead.

"Un…too many with those two," I replied before I took a seat on a chair adjacent to the couch. "…maa, daijoubuka, Iruka-sensei?"

"…fine, Kakashi-sensei…I guess I overdid training today…" Iruka said softly as he turned his head to look at me. "Gai-sensei can be quite a slave-driver…when he thinks we're in the 'youth of our lives'…"

I couldn't help but snicker at that, knowing how true it could be. My next thought was: _What was Iruka training with Gai for?_ "Training?" I asked curiously, my visible eye studying Iruka as he sat up again, but this time didn't pale as he shifted so he could look at me.

"Un…I was working on my taijutsu with Gai-sensei…" Iruka sighed as he tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling before taking a deep breath and looking back at me. "Gai-sensei…before he became a jounin, I actually had a chance when we sparred…"

…_he…was on the same level as Gai…but Gai's been a jounin for nearly seven years…which would have made Iruka…how old is he?_ I wondered to myself as I looked at the chuunin. At first glance, I guessed around my age, thirty-four (A/N:…I don't know if that's his exact age (or Iruka's for that matter…)…but I couldn't say later thirties…it would have made him an _old_ pervert…/snickers/) "Before he became a jounin? He was very good at taijutsu even then."

"I know…I wasn't _bad _either…but it's been a few years since I've actually trained with just taijutsu…and even when I used to spar with Gai…I used more tricks on him than actual skills…" Iruka said softly as he removed the towel from his head and set it down on his thigh. "I don't think that would help me much anymore."

"Tricks?"

"Un…I was even more ruthless than Naruto when I was young…" Iruka replied, looking away from me quickly, but I could see the faint blush on his cheeks. _Worse than Naruto!…is there such a thing? From what I've learned about that brat…he's destroyed the Hokage monument…gotten arrested for a few of his acts…and actually tricked the Hokage…how could someone like Iruka be worse?_

"How so?" I couldn't stop myself from asking as I slid off the chair and took a seat on the couch next to Iruka. I was mindful to keep a distance between myself and the chuunin, since I had an odd feeling he would probably beat me to a pulp before I even knew what hit me if I tried _anything_. Not that I would…but hands had a terrible mind of their own sometimes…

"…do you remember…about ten years ago…there was a riot…" Iruka commented, his tone hinting at something and, for a moment, I could see him as a child-a trickster with a scar across his tiny nose. The image was so cute, I couldn't help but chuckle as I nodded my head to his statement.

"Three ANBU teams, every Genin team in the village, and all other shinobi who weren't already busy were needed to hold back the citizens…and there were a few teams needed to protect some kid…" I looked over at Iruka and my eye widened when I saw him point a finger at himself when I mentioned the child that was put in protective custody. _Demo…that kid…wasn't that old…it couldn't have been Iruka…_ "NANI!"

"That was me…I didn't think everyone would get so mad if I tried this new jutsu of mine…it's now a forbidden jutsu…" The immature side of me couldn't help but chuckle at the impish smile on Iruka's face. "Nani? I thought it was a good prank at the time…"

"What did you do?" _I was away on an ANBU mission when that happened, but it was like the Kyuubi incident…no one's supposed to talk about it anymore…_I thought to myself, knowing that Iruka would tell me what he did from the little snicker of pride I heard come out of his mouth.

"Every piece of cloth in the village was…altered…" Iruka smiled as he tried to cover his blush with his hands. "I can't believe I found a way to make material invisible…and since I was the only person with clothes left…they knew it was me…"

I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing at the images that statement gave me. _No wonder people were annoyed…but wouldn't shinobi been just as annoyed at him as everyone else?_ As if he was able to read my thoughts, Iruka snickered. "Metal and spandex weren't changed…so Gai was the one in charge of watching me…it took them weeks to figure out a way to reverse my jutsu…"

"Haha…" I let out a deep chuckle, which was soon accompanied by Iruka's higher -pitched laugh. We sat there on the couch and laughed until I was doubled over from the pain a cramp in my abdomen and Iruka was gasping for breath. "I wouldn't have expected a teacher like you to have been suck a prankster."

"When I was young, I didn't think I'd become a _teacher _of all things," Iruka replied between deep breaths. I nodded my head, most children didn't think of what they wanted to become when they were young. _But I was already a jounin when I was Naruto's age…and Iruka still acted like a child ten years ago…we're complete opposites…_I thought to myself, then smiled when I realized something. _And I act more immature than he does…according to everyone else…_

"It's a good thing you grew out of your pranks, Iruka-sensei…" I stated, but froze when I saw the smile on his face. It screamed that he had already done something and was just waiting for me to hear about it. And it was obvious he was proud of whatever he did. "What did you do?"

"Nothing…" Iruka replied while his smile widened. He snickered as he slowly stood up and turned around to look at me. He walked into the kitchen and rummaged through one of the bags still there. He pulled out something, but I couldn't see what it was until he walked back towards me with the lumpy green object cradled in his arms. I stared at the material as Iruka unrolled it to reveal a jumpsuit and that is when my eye began to twitch. _That looks almost exactly like…_

"That isn't?"

"It is…"

"IRUKA-KUUUUN!" My visible eye flew to the door as Gai came crashing though it in nothing but his green vest, hitai-ate, and orange weights. Now that my twitching had become spasms, I was unable to focus on Gai enough to get any images burned into my mind. "So hip and modern in the way you stole my clothes!"

"Konnichiwa, Gai-sensei…" Iruka said as calmly as any human could as he waved the piece of spandex in the air. "That jutsu just wore off?" _Jutsu? How did he steal Gai's clothes…and not have Gai notice until now? He didn't knock him unconscious, did he?_

"It was so cool that you could put a buushin no jutsu and henge no jutsu together to replicate my youthful clothes and switch them so quickly that not even I noticed!" _How the hell did he accomplish that?…without taking off the rest of Gai's clothes _and _having Gai somehow not feel it?_ Gai's pose faltered, as did his shining grin, as he looked at Iruka. "How could someone as young as yourself be pale!"

"He passed out only a little while ago," I stated with a monotonous tone as I stood up, ready to catch Iruka in case he started to fall again. As I studied Iruka's body rock back and forth slowly, Gai went through a whole scene change, along with ocean and sunset, as he cried over something I guessed to be 'the wonders of youth.'

"Kakashi…" I heard Iruka whisper my name as I saw his legs buckle and, in a rush to catch him, I tripped on something and landed on my face. Thankfully, Iruka fell backwards this time and his head landed on the back of my plush vest. I glared at Gai for a moment and only stopped when he ended his little scene and noticed Iruka was unconscious on the floor. I slowly sat up as Gai lifted Iruka's head enough for me to do so and, as I stood up, I took Iruka from his arms.

"His room is on the end of the other hallway," Gai stated as he picked up his tiny spandex jumpsuit, thankfully covering himself to prevent any serious brain damage on my part, and began walking out of the room. He turned his head to look at me and smiled, but the usual shine wasn't there. "Kakashi…would you stay with him tonight? I would…but Lee…"

"Go get dressed," I snapped, almost regretting my tone when I saw Gai look away as he continued to walk out of the apartment. Gai's attitude towards me hadn't changed in all the years we were 'eternal rivals,' except for the past few days. If he had been close enough to be a friend to me, I would have actually worried about him. He was seriously depressed over Lee's injuries, but I didn't say anything-it wasn't my place. I shook any further thoughts of the strange shinobi as I shifted Iruka's weight in my arms and followed Gai's directions. I walked back into the small room near the front door, then began walking down a long hallway. At the end of it, there were two door, one to the left, and one to the right. After a quick glimpse in the one to my left, I shook my head. The orange screamed 'Naruto' almost as much as the walrus hat resting on the disgustingly orange bed did.

Iruka mumbled something as he shifted in my arms so that his head was facing my chest. I smiled as I looked down at him and pushed open the door opposite the orange room. I sighed in relief when I saw a normal room. This room, unlike the living room and kitchen, had kunai and shuriken everywhere. I could also sense that there was some kind of jutsu on the windows that allowed a adequate amount of light to filter into the room while the shades were still down. The amount of light in the room was enough for me to walk towards the large bed in the middle of the room without stepping on something or running into anything. I moved Iruka in my arms enough so that I could hold him with one while I pulled down the comforter and sheets with the other.

I bent over as I laid Iruka into the bed and even after I had him underneath the blankets, I remained leaning over him, studying his face. I almost hit myself, remembering the last time I had slept in my uniform--it wasn't comfortable. I pulled the sheets back down and began removing his shinobi gear. When I had finally taken off his vest and shuriken holder, along with his scroll pouch, I looked at his long-sleeved shirt for a lingering moment. _It couldn't hurt…_I thought to myself, remembering that all shinobi wore mesh or a t-shirt underneath their uniform anyways. My belief was proven wrong as I began sliding the chuunin's arms out of the shirt. That belief was then metaphorically stomped on as I pulled the shirt over Iruka's head and couldn't stop my eyes from taking in the man's tan skin. Unlike my own body, his chest and arms had only a few, tiny scars, but as I leaned him against my shoulder so that I could take out the band holding up his hair, I could see his back was covered in scars. The largest, and obviously most recent, scar was one that stretched from between his shoulder blades down to the dip in his back. Guessing from its size and shape, I categorized it as a shuriken wound, but one that could have been avoided. _Any shinobi could have turned slightly so that it wouldn't have embedded itself so close to the spine…he could have been paralyzed from it…so why would he have voluntarily taken a hit?_

I continued what I had been doing before I had been frozen by that scar. I gently slid the hair tie out of Iruka's hair and watched as it fell gracefully to brush down past his shoulders. I couldn't stop myself as my fingers wove through his silky hair and almost jumped back when Iruka leaned towards my hand. For a moment, I wondered if he was awake, but from his breathing, heart beat and lower chakra levels, Iruka was asleep and had unconsciously responded to my touch. I immediately decided that there was an actual God…and she/he was being merciful tonight.

I laid his head back down on a large pillow and stood up as I pulled the blankets back up to his neck. With an impish grin, I leaned back over him again and tucked the blankets around him tightly. _Hehe…see if you can get out of my restraining technique, Iruka-sensei…_ With that thought in mind, I glanced around the room, but found no chair or anything else I could sit on, so I mumbled a 'goodnight' to the sleeping chuunin before I slipped out of the room and closed the door behind myself.

I knew I shouldn't have gone snooping, but there were several doors that I had yet to see the contents of and they were calling to me. The first one I looked in was a average bathroom covered in immaculately white tiles (what I had been expecting from the clean chuunin), the second a storage room for all kinds of cleaning objects (again, the signs of Iruka's slight obsession with hygiene), but the third I came to was, simply said, amazing. I knew immediately it was Iruka's training room, but what was so amazing about it was that the walls were covered in seals. I knew a bit about seals-that's what happens when your sensei was a master with seals-so I immediately went to work trying to figure out what they were for.

I circled the room two or three times before the characters clicked in my mind. _A Four Season Seal? That's used for chakra flow…but there are two extra winter characters…and the character for spring is…unfinished…iie…it's purposely like that…but why? This would do nothing to contain chakra…or block outside chakra…_ I studied the floor again, wondering why Iruka would have such a powerful seal in his training room, but I then reminded myself that this wasn't an ordinary seal. _Could it be a seal used in his family's techniques? …but only the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans have powerful enough abilities that _any_ of these seals are needed in certain areas of training…Naruto is the only person who has a Four Season Seal on him…but his seal is made of two of them…could Iruka really be strong enough to need these seals when training?_

_But…who is he protecting? The village…or himself?_

/\\

(A/N:…shall I end?…I think so, for now…eleven pages seems like enough, ne?)

Authoress: YOSH! First chapter, check…and this chapter goes from eppies 21 'til 54ish…YAY!…and, just as a warning…I won't be following episodes as soon as the chuunin exams are over…and what not…yep….just because…/sighs/ the anime makes Iruka out to be such a WUSS after Sasuke leaves…yea…that one mission when Mizuki comes back…/cries/ I think Iruka's like the same level as Kakashi…hence all of those lil' hints about him becoming a jounin and such…and the seals…

Kakashi: maa…what is it for…

Authoress: now, if I told you…there wouldn't be a point for the next few chapters…anyways…you want Iruka to tell you…so your relationship can _deepen_

Iruka//blushes/

Kakashi: do you…like me Iruka?

Iruka: I…/beeeep/ (censored for the Authoress' sanity…and her sole 'job')

Authoress: heheh…you'll have to find out one day…well…you already know how this'll turn out…but it'll have it's twists and turns…yep…THIS IS A MEANDERING STORY!…so if we have a chapter or two on some other pairing that I just _had _to write about…then…well…you'll just have to deal with it…anyways…it'd probably be Naruto and Sasuke or something to that effect…so you'll all be happy, right…/freezes/ I just thought of a chapter I could put in after Sasuke leaves the village and Shikamaru's team goes after them and what not…then Lee gets in a fight when he's drunk and Gaara soooo saves his lover's ass…yep…that'll have to be at least a one chappie side story…yays!

Gaara:…lover…?

Lee:…was I drunk…and why does my ass hurt?

Gaara:…I hurt…more…/blushes/

Authoress: oh…that's not for a while…heehee I want to have Gaara uke…and Lee sooo seme…I don't know why…call it a Yaoi-fan's fantasy…./drools/ until next time…when Iruka's not passing out, Kakashi's not groping and snooping (and peeping), and when we finally get to know what Kakashi's hiding under that mask (no promises that's in chapter two, now) …SAYONARA!


	2. Friendship Comes First

-1Authoress: alright! Back again with chapter two of our meandering story (read comments from the end of chapter one to understand that one…) soooo…of course, I'll take requests if anyone wants a particular pairing to show up…unless it's one that just plain creeps _me_ out too much (and that's a difficult thing to do, let me tell you!)…or if it won't fit into the story…kay!

Gaara:…if you write something about m--- /ducks as a pot of tea is thrown in his direction/

Authoress: I'm very hungry…am on a caffeine binge (they think it'll end my insomnia if I have no kind of caffeine whatsoever…and I'm a coffee addict…so this is fun…hehehe…now I'm high of Yaoi! WHOO HOO!…I'd say life…but…being sick all the time…how I hate fainting and that whole headache thing… (and living in the middle of nowhere) pretty much takes away the whole ' high on life' thing…heheh…

Iruka: is that why you wrote about me passing out?

Authoress: it's best to write about what you know, or experienced…and I'm quite experienced in the illness and unconscious flirting areas…/whispers/ don't flirt with your best friend's boyfriend…then make out with them…it doesn't end well…just a hint for all those other flirts out there…

Iruka: how could you pair those two things together…and make me BOTH!

Authoress: becauuuuuse…you never see much of Iruka in the manga or anime…unless they're making him out to be a complete wuss…which he is totally NOT…Iruka could whip anyone's ass anytime of day…just give him some motivation……./throws hands in the air/ I'm not gonna drink any more of my blackberry tea…it's starting to have an uplifting (in a high sort of way) effect on me…

Disclaimer: …now really…I'm the creator of Naruto…and just wanted to mess with my own story a lil', because I love Iruka that much, but never put him and Kakashi together (with definite evidence) in the series…if you believed that…that's just plain sad…/smiles/ I don't own squat…except for the massive amount of anime stuff I have hanging around my house…hehehe…

Chapter Two:

(Iruka's POV)

"Iruka-sensei!" I glanced up from the scroll I had been grading. I slid off of the comfortable couch with a speed that only years of experience had given me as a blur of orange flew into the back of my cushioned seat. Raising an eyebrow, I waited until Naruto sat up, mumbling 'itai dattebayo' to himself as he rubbed his head.

"Naruto-kun? Aren't you supposed to be training?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me when I saw a glimmer in Naruto's eyes. A glimmer that had, in earlier days, always meant trouble for both of us-mostly me since I was his guardian. _And what a job I did raising him…he's a hoodlum just like I was…_I thought to myself as I smiled at the boy. Also, like me, he had begun growing out of his prankster ways and actually began trying to be a great shinobi--someone who I was very proud of.

"I _was, _Iruka-sensei! Demo…I did it! You should have seen Ero-sennin's face!" I knew by now, my raised eyebrow must have been high enough to touch my hitai-ate as I studied my former-pupil's grinning face. _He did it? He told me he was learning a summoning jutsu…he actually did it! _I smiled at this thought, but wasn't at all surprised at Naruto's progress. When he actually put his mind to something, he was a quick learner-as long as he was threatened with the torturous 'I'll never treat you to ramen again' statement.

"That's wonderful, Naruto!" I exclaimed with enough enthusiasm and pride to rival the blonde on my couch. He smirked in the way only Naruto could as he looked up at me, waiting for me to say those dreaded words that always left a large dent in my wallet. "…why don't we go out for ramen to celebrate?"

"YOSH!" I stepped back as the energetic thirteen-year old bounced off of the couch and began flying towards the door with a 'last one there has to pay' battle cry. I smiled, waiting as he raced through my front door, leaving it open in his haste (like he usually did). That might be one of the reasons I never got into the habit of locking my door unless I knew for certain Naruto wouldn't be coming over. It would just be a waste of broken locks and hinges otherwise, on one hand. On the other…those locks would never be used if Naruto had failed his Genin exams-he'd be pretty much living in my house if I hadn't passed him. I counted to ten as slowly as possible, which meant taking my time with fractions, before I used a well-molded string of chakra to push the door shut. I then took a deep breath, closing my eyes before I used a small portion of my chakra to wrap around my feet and legs. I waited until that chakra had finished weaving itself around my entire body, its swirling energy making my loose pants to ripple slightly. I didn't need to open my eyes to know that the wave-like blue energy was actually visible, which was unusual for other shinobi. Almost everyone I had ever met who knew jutsu like this could make their chakra invisible, but I just found it a waste of effort as well as something that slowed down the entire teleportation.

With a burst of speed thanks to years of teaching hyper, armed children, as well as the past few weeks of training with Gai, I brought my hands up to my chest and formed a few quick, familiar, seals. I pictured the front of Ichiraku's, a well-known image in my mind, and with a gust of wind and poof of smoke, I opened my eyes stepped into the ramen stand. Almost an instant after I sat down and flagged the owner down, my lips curved upwards as I heard faint screams from outside the tiny restaurant, followed by cursing and 'watch where you're going!'

"EEEEHHH?" I turned around in my stool, my smile breaking into a full grin when I saw Naruto's mouth drop open. "I-I-Iruka-sensei! How did you get here before me!" I nearly laughed at this. In all the years we had been together, Naruto had yet to figure out half the time we 'raced,' I used a teleportation jutsu just to mess with his mind. It gave me a small pleasure to see him with amazement in his eyes, and a gaping mouth.

"You're still too slow, Naruto-kun," I replied, turning back in my seat when I heard the wonderful sound of two bowls being set down on the counter. The owner knew me well enough to remember my favorite choice of ramen-miso pork, and also knew that, when I appeared due to a jutsu, or with the speed of a shinobi with a mission, that meant Naruto would soon follow. The old man smiled pleasantly as Naruto took a seat to my right and looked down at his steaming bowl, curiosity still filling his blue eyes. He looked up at me with that pitiful look, one that was one of my few weaknesses. I sighed and looked away, putting on a thoughtful face-for appearances only. I had no intention of making the blonde pay for his own celebratory meal, but the race here was always fun.

"Alright, I'll pay, but next time you take so long, you're treating me," I replied, grabbing the counter as Naruto flung himself into my torso, squeezing until I was sure I had lost the ability to breathe. Once he finally released me, with an 'arigatou, sensei' (one of my lessons that actually stuck with him while I was around), I took a deep breath and smiled at the boy. I never admitted it to Naruto, or anyone else for that matter, but I was as much of a ramen junkie as Naruto was…and had been one for far longer than him. If it hadn't been for the fact that I worked late, got up early, never took a day off unless Naruto was seriously sick, and stashed most of my money away for presents for the blonde as well as an 'allowance,' which he still got even after he begged me to stop treating him like a child, I'd eat ramen every day, for all three meals (and maybe a few snacks on weekends). I sighed inwardly, remembering how much it hurt when Naruto finally decided to get his own apartment. It was only a few blocks away from mine, but in those first few months, I hardly went home, even to sleep, because the thought of an empty, quiet house was too hard for me. It had gotten easier as Naruto had gotten older, making 'friends' with a few children in his class. In a way, that assured me that he wouldn't be alone all the time, like I so often was. Even now, nostalgia filled me every time I walked into my own house, only to be overcome with annoyance when I noticed that Naruto had been over at some point in my absence-leaving scrolls, cushions, and instant ramen cups laying around the apartment floor. He was as much of a pig as I was at his age, but I prayed he would grow out of it like I did…or else I would always be wondering about his health. Last time he came to me because he was ill, I discovered he had drank old milk…something I had done when I was young as well…and actually pitied him as he flew through my front door and headed straight towards the bathroom without so much as a word.

"Oi…Iruka-nii…" That honorific caught my attention immediately, since Naruto hadn't called me that, unless he needed something, since he was about six. From the tone of his voice, I knew this was something important to him-not like all the times he begged for answers to the next big test-so I put my chopsticks down and looked at the boy. I was surprised to see a faint blush on his cheeks.

"What is it, Naruto?" I could see he was biting his inner cheeks, a nervous habit of his that had been showing itself less and less as he became more confident in himself. Seeing him like this made all of my paternal/brotherly instincts kick into full gear. "Is something wrong?"

"…iie…I was just wondering….umm…." Naruto's faint blush blew into a full reddening of his face as he looked away from me and his shoulders tensed. "This morning…ero-sennin…wanted me to hug a girl I liked…I-I went to hug Sakura-chan…demo…" The color on the back of his neck flared up to a color that clashed terribly with his orange jumpsuit. "I…I…"

My eyebrow raised at this. Naruto never stuttered like this, when talking to me, unless something was terribly wrong. "What happened Naruto?" I asked, inwardly praying that 'it' didn't occur. I wasn't ready to have such a talk with the teen…it would be far too embarrassing on my part. Too embarrassing not because I had a problem with the contents of the 'talk,' but that I knew just about as much as I taught my students about human reproduction. If it was time to chat to Naruto about the wonders of sex, I would have to go to a higher (in other words, more perverse) power, which meant either going to Kakashi, Jiraya-sama, or the Hokage. Not one of which I wanted to admit my lack of knowledge to. _ They would never let me live the fact of my intact virginity down…unless_… I knew with that thought, my face must have colored enough to rival Naruto's.

"I…I was thinking…that Ero-sennin…said a girl I _loved_…demo…I…I don't think I like Sakura-chan like that anymore…" Naruto said softly as he turned back to look at me. I breathed a sigh of relief, thanking whatever god that existed that it hadn't been 'time' yet. The corner of my lips twitched upwards, which I knew Naruto would see as a silent 'and?' "And…I realized…that I like someone else like _that…_"

My inward fears came back with a vengeance…if he found someone he had fallen in love with…he was old enough now to have such a relationship that would probably end up in spending nights in another person's bed. I couldn't forbid him from having a girlfriend and, against what my overly possessive-and protective-mind believed, I would take his relationship in stride and try my best to like this person…no matter who she was. My brow furrowed when I saw the confused glimmer in Naruto's eyes. He was trying to say something else, but had yet to find the words. "Who do you like, Naruto?"

"…will you be mad at me, Iruka-nii?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed, surprised with Naruto's question. Something told me that there was something about this person Naruto knew I wouldn't like…but what? Short of falling in love with someone inherently evil, myself, or Sasuke (who would be sure to kill Naruto if he ever found out), I would accept anyone he loved as another part of our unconventional family…after I was able to have a small talk with this person, to make sure they wouldn't hurt Naruto, of course. I decided, as I saw his nervous expression, that I would have to start thinking of a way to have a 'chat' with his lover…and sharpen a few kunai before that talk. "What would make you think that I'd be mad at you? You can tell me who she is."

"…weeeeell…" Naruto glanced up at the ceiling, his blush fading slightly. "…it's not a _she_…" With that comment, his eyes shifted towards the other side of the ceiling and he glared at it. Huffing loudly, he continued, "even though he's girly enough to be called one!" That little statement made my heart sink…there was only one person who Naruto had ever used that tone with…and who was on my list of 'pricks' along with Kakashi (who had somehow lowered his status from 'super prick' a few weeks ago when he helped me with my groceries) and a few other jounin, mainly the female population who were always trying to set me up with someone new every other week. I had yet to find anyone of their choice, from a broad spectrum of shinobi and civilians, even vaguely interesting.

"Are you sure…you're…in_ love_ with him?" I asked softly, hoping it was just a hormonal phase on Naruto's part, but knew in the recesses of my mind that there was always an odd connection between those two. Now all I could do was pray Sasuke had a heart somewhere underneath all of that icy exterior and that he had a small, hidden secret that he was madly in love with Naruto. _Fat chance…_I thought to myself as I watched Naruto look down at his cooling ramen. He nodded his head, going back to biting his inner cheek. I sighed, wishing I had thought of a comeback to something like this a long time ago. "Does…he feel the same?"

"…never…he thinks I'm some kind of idiot…" Naruto said softly, using his chopsticks to push at the soft noodles. I could tell from the hopeless tone in his voice that Naruto had already realized that his affections were going to be rejected, probably in the most hurtful way Sasuke could think of at that moment.

"Then he doesn't deserve you," I replied, gently elbowing my little 'brother's' shoulder. He looked up at me, but didn't smile like he usually did. "You're still young, Naruto…there's going to be quite a few people you'll like…and," I stopped as I winked at him, "I know you'll be a heartbreaker in a few years." Naruto smiled at this as he let out a breath of air he had been holding in.

"What about you, Iruka-sensei? Everyone loves you…but…you're always alone…" Naruto commented, knowing he hit a nerve as he looked up at me with watery eyes. "…You should find someone…I know for a fact that that flea-ball's older sister has a thing for you…" Kiba's older sister, an old classmate of mine, was far from what I'd pick for a girlfriend, so I just shook my head as I smiled. Naruto knew about the attempts the shinobi community was making to find me a partner, and actually helped them at times by giving otherwise secrets about my personality. For example, everyone had found out from my blabbermouth 'brother' that I didn't go for looks, but for brains, that I hated the whole 'dolphin' thing…it was far overplayed-I knew I shared a name with a watery mammal, but actually couldn't stand having dolphins furnishing my desk during the gift-giving times of year-, even the fact that I preferred to walk around in my boxers before going to bed became my growing 'fan-club's' favorite quirk about me. This infamous fan-club consisted of all the female jounin (as well as a few males), and most chuunin, who had nothing better to do with their free time than try to make their candidates for my dates _accidentally_ run into me. They had gone far enough as to plant their choices into my classroom, Ichiraku's, even in my own house when all else failed.

"Naruto…you're already enough to fill my spare time…anyways…I want to meet someone _without _any interference…" _It has to be fate that brings us together…_I added to myself as I watched Naruto's hopeful expression fall. He had desperately wanted me to meet someone, despite the fact he knew nothing about the whole 'after the date is over' scenario. I knew I was a hopeless romantic…I wanted to meet someone that took my breath away, who filled every thought…who I would actually _want_ to spend time with. Someone who wouldn't mind that I was as quirky as Naruto…who could take my jokes at face value-and have me laugh at a few of their antics. A person who could accept that I wasn't someone who would race into a sexual relationship, no matter how alluring and flirtatious they was, but would prefer to spend time sitting at the kitchen table talking about one jutsu or another, or even politics, without being bored. Someone like that had yet to fall into my life. And, short of a miracle, it wasn't going to happen in my lifetime, either.

"I know…but when I become Hokage…I'll order you to find someone, or else I'll force you to live with…" Naruto put on a thoughtful face-which was kind of ironic in itself-then smiled evilly. "Kakashi-sensei…." He burst out laughing at this, his earlier depression fleeing from his thoughts as he ducked before he got caught by a quick slap on my part. I couldn't help but smile at this. There was no other person who was _least _likely to be 'the one' than Kakashi. I had known for some time, since I was about fourteen, that I had no particular attraction towards either gender, which left open the option that my soul mate was male. It was an epiphany that had startled me at the time, considering I had always been taught that it was 'natural' to fall in love and marry a nice girl, but I had gotten use to the idea since then and now fully accepted that fact. This small truth about myself was still a secret between myself and Naruto-he would never go as far as to betray my trust and tell someone such a thing-so no one ever knew I wouldn't mind a male companion. Perhaps that was why Naruto had such a smile on his face right now. He knew that, if it wasn't for Kakashi's lazy personality, he probably would have been someone I could stand.

Naruto could tell, ever since the chuunin exams began, that I actually didn't mind Kakashi as much as I allowed people to believe. Naruto had picked up the odd habit that every now and then, he would slide his hitai-ate over one eye and cover his mouth with his jacket, then imitate Kakashi's odd 'eye-smile' that he did so often. Thankfully, he only did this when we were alone, which left me able to become flustered without having to try hiding the fact I was turning all shades of red and stammering that 'Kakashi's only a friend!' He was just that, in my mind. I knew from the gossip vine that Kakashi was about as romantic as a stone, and just as interesting as one after you got over the novelty of his infamy and perversions-that small detail was one of the things that annoyed me more than anything else about the jounin. That, and his secretive nature, and that I could tell he didn't trust people as much as they believed he did, gave me another reason to cross him off the 'possibilities.' He was far to jumpy at times, carefree at others…and positively lazy. He was almost sadistic to this three students, from what I've heard from Naruto, but he was admired by all three-and I still wondered why they actually _did_ respect the pervert-and he was also too emotionless…like a real shinobi should be when on a mission, but Kakashi's only problem was that his attitude was something that _continued_ long after the missions were over. I doubted that his smiles were actually genuine after having been near him a few, brief, times.

I looked away from my smirking student, only to hear a voice that made my body freeze as I began sweating, wondering how much of the conversation he caught. "Maa…you're talking about me behind my back, Naruto…"

"…ehehee…Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto turned around in his stool as I wished that I could drown myself in my, now cold, bowl of ramen. The last time I was face to face with Kakashi…was, well…it wasn't pretty.

/Flashback….still Iruka's POV, though…/

I slowly drifted into consciousness, something that I found pleasure in doing when it was the weekends, or whenever there was a holiday. Otherwise, I would jump out of the bed before my eyes were even open in order to get ready and be at the academy before the sun rose. I shifted slightly, noticing that, through my closed eyelids, I could see it was quite bright outside…brighter than it should be at six in the morning, when I got up on lazy days such as this. I cracked an eye open and looked at my window, glaring at the blinding sun that I could see in the sky through the blinds. The position of the sun only meant that I…for the first time since I was about ten…had overslept. I began to pull off my blankets, but froze when I discovered my arms weren't moving like they should have. On the contrary, my entire body was so tightly wrapped in blankets that I couldn't move enough to even loosen the cotton's death grip on my half-naked frame. Those two discoveries, along with the oversleeping, made me nervous. First, I never wrapped myself in blankets, I actually hated to sleep with sheets on the bed at all, so I just folded them all down to the foot of my bed at night, second, as much as I preferred to walk around in my underwear while I was in my own house, I never fell asleep unless I was in my pajamas-currently a pair of walrus PJs that Naruto had given to me for my birthday last year. They were cute, comfortable, and there wasn't a dolphin in sight, so I had already begun wearing them out to the point they reminded me of some type of rag I used for cleaning…but they were oh-so comfy in their pitiful state.

As I fought with the blankets for a second, unsuccessful, time, I tried to remember what had happened last night. _The last thing I remember…is…Gai…oh…dear…kami-sama…KAKASHI!…he was still here when I passed out…which means…one of them…_I blushed at this thought, realizing that no one but my parents and Naruto had ever seen me with so few articles of clothing on before. I didn't really mind if it was Gai who did the stripping…he would never take advantage of me, but Kakashi on the other hand…I had no misconceptions about his values…and had a good idea what he'd do if he had the chance to see me so unclothed, which made me blush even more.

"You're finally awake, Iruka-sensei…" _That_ voice drifted to my ears, with his cheerful tone, and I nearly snarled back, the aggravation of being trapped in my own blankets finally starting to get to me. I lifted my head enough to see Kakashi leaning against the frame of my bedroom's door, his eye curved upwards and his arms folded across his chest, with an orange book in one hand. "I was beginning to wonder if you were okay…sleeping so long…"

"What time is it?" I asked as politely as I could, smiling to myself when I found a weakness in the sheets' grasp, right around my behind. I was slightly pleased at this thought, realizing that Kakashi must have tucked me in, but had been 'gentlemanly' enough to refrain from touching my ass, but nothing could redeem Kakashi when I heard his reply to my question.

"It is eleven o'clock on Friday, Iruka-sensei…" It wasn't so much the eleven o'clock part of his statement that had my flinging off the rest of my sheets with the mindset 'to hell if he sees me half-naked _again_,' but was the Friday bit. Fridays meant classes…classes that currently didn't have a teacher. He must have understood what had gotten me moving so quickly, as he pushed himself off of the doorframe and I could feel his eye follow me as I quickly made my bed, then went in search of a clean set of clothes.

"I already told the academy you wouldn't be in today…Ebisu said he'd take over your class for a few days." Kakashi took a step into the room, which made me turn around abruptly, and I knew I was glaring at him. I guessed he was caught aback from my response, considering he actually froze in mid-step and stood frozen as he studied me. "What's wrong, Iruka-sensei?"

"You…you had no right to tell them I was taking a day off!" I retorted, knowing that I probably would have done the same thing if I had been in his position, or if I had woken up a little earlier, but I was always someone who was a more 'vent now, apologize later' kind of person. The one thing that I hated most about people was when they assumed things about me…or did something that concerned me without my permission.

"You have been unconscious for over twelve hours…I had tried waking you up earlier to ask if you wanted to stay home today, but since you didn't wake up, I decided you were in no shape to teach brat-" Kakashi actually stopped before he had even fully uttered the word, his eye fixed on my face-my angered expression to be exact.

"Brats?" I repeated coldly, one fist tightening at my side as I turned away from him, trying to hide the fact I was swaying slightly. It was probably just due to my exhaustion and lack of food for almost a full day, but part of it was my current temperament. Nothing made me aggravated more quickly than having someone call the future of our village 'brats.' I had been called that enough as a child and, as much as I hated to admit it to myself, let alone anyone else, it was a topic that I never wanted reopened, especially by this perverse asshole of a jounin.

"Iruka-sensei…you're in no shape to-" I cut him off with a huff even before he got a chance to even begin to rescue himself from the figurative hole he was digging. I cracked my knuckles as I picked my weaponry carefully, taking my time to make my wording as hurtful as I could.

"No shape? I, unlike you, actually care enough about what I do to take time from my life to _attempt_ to do my duty. While you may be a outstanding shinobi, you are a despicable human being, so I don't expect you to understand what it means to actually _like_ what you do, or even care about your students enough to see them as more than just a burden…or brats. Unless I have a contagious disease, or I am literally dying, I am in enough _shape_ to teach my classes. My students trust me enough to expect me to be on time, every day, no matter what the weather or what happens to me. It was my choice to train yesterday to the point of exhaustion, and it is _my choice _if I am able to take on classes, not some bastard who doesn't even care enough about his own students to show up most days…" I had at least twelve or thirteen more comments that I wanted to add, but caught a glimpse of Kakashi's reaction. He was downright _pissed_. I didn't have to use any effort to realize that his Sharingan was spinning at an amazing speed underneath his hitai-ate, I could feel his chakra levels rising and his usually cheerful eye slanted dangerously. A murderous-intent was flowing off of him in such excess, I could see a few plants around my room were beginning to wither. I must have hit a few nerves with one, or more, of my comments.

I was afraid, for a moment, that he would say something to try saving himself, which probably would only lead me to badmouth him further, and this angry cycle would continue for some time, but was somewhat relieved when I saw him shift his body, preparing to move. I closed my eyes, knowing that someone of Kakashi's abilities would be faster than the normal human eye could see, so I instead used my other senses to judge his attack as he flew at me in a burst of chakra. His speed _was_ incredible, but I was easily able to track his movements as he circled me, his feet hardly even touching the wooden floor, which made my sense of hearing useless. I took a deep breath, noting a definite change in his chakra. Almost all of his extra energy flew to his feet and right arm and, in a burst of speed that could only be described as amazing, he closed the distance between us, his body coming towards me from directly in front of me. _Mistake one…_I thought to myself as I bent over backwards slowly, teasing him with the fact I easily was able to dodge his fist. I didn't get the chance to revel in my small victory as one knee came towards the small of my back.

Again, I twisted my body in an almost gravity-defying move in order to dodge. This time, I used the fact I was a closet-contortionist to my advantage as I bent, literally, in double and caught his leg with my open hands, using one leg to plant a firm kick into his ribcage as the other wrapped around his other leg and pulled him to the ground. Before he even began to fall to the ground, Kakashi wrenched himself out of my grip and flew backwards. He remained still, nearly two meters away from me, as I rolled back up into a standing position, my shoulders and vertebrae cracking loudly as I did so-it probably would have been better to stretch before attempting that particular move. From the change in his expression, now wary anger instead of blind hatred, I could tell he was surprised I was able to land a hit without actually being harmed myself. He underestimated me and knew it…which led him to his next movement, bringing his hand up to shift the position of his hitai-ate.

I couldn't help but realize how much fun it would be to actually see how I measured up to the Copycat-Ninja, to see if he was able to guess my Bloodline Limit, let alone copy it, and if the Sharingan really was as powerful as some believed. I saw it as a weakness, personally. No one with the Sharingan that I knew of, except for Uchiha Itachi had ever actually become an amazing shinobi without relying completely on their eyes. He was a genius even without his family's heritage, which made me watch Kakashi with caution. It was rumored he was a genius as well.

I looked at Kakashi's mismatched eyes, my gaze flickering towards the spinning red orb as he took a calculated step towards me. I was astonished at the difference uncovering his Sharingan had done. Not only did his movements change completely, but his chakra control became perfect in every sense of the term. I knew I was looking at a master and smiled at this fact as he rushed towards me again. I felt his fist land in my stomach even before I got a chance to register he moved, but my reaction was just as quick as he was. I brought up my hand and punched the one unprotected part of Kakashi, his face. I couldn't stop myself from smirking when I felt an unusual crunch beneath my knuckles as they came in contact with his nose, and again when I saw him back up a step, a hand flying to his nose.

My momentary high from my small victory was short-lived as I felt my legs giving out. I inwardly cursed, remembering that I was weak enough last night to pass out twice and I wasn't used to such drains on my physical energies in such a short period of time. At that moment, as I began falling to the ground, I realized I was too exhausted to even lift my arms in my own defense when Kakashi, quick to recover from his broken nose, caught me by the neck before I had a chance to land on the floor and easily picked me up to his eyelevel as he tightened his grip around my neck. From the sheer force that Kakashi was exerting on my neck, I knew he was going to leave bruises if he didn't snap it first. I gasped for air, but was fruitless in my attempts to regain enough oxygen to stop the onslaught of blackness. I closed my eyes slowly, wondering how it was I was so easily beaten by this lazy jounin, and couldn't stop myself from marveling that my death would be far earlier than I expected. As I felt the last bit of energy leave my body, and the pain in my head become unbearable, the murderous grip on my neck loosened and I slid to the floor.

I gasped for breath between coughs as I remained lying on the floor, distinctly aware of the fact that Kakashi was still standing closely to me. I forced myself to open my eyes long enough to look at him and was surprised to see that that cold hatred was gone from his eyes. Instead, there was only amazement…and a slight fear as he looked down at me, then to his shaking right hand. Once I regained the ability to take a full breath, I slowly sat up, leaning on both arms for needed support. I looked up at Kakashi long enough to see his that his left hand, the one that had been covering his broken nose only moments before, was soaked in red, and I could see his mask was soaked though with his own blood as well.

I tried to think of something to say, besides an apology, since that would have been just plain stupid at the moment. I didn't just insult him, I broke his nose badly, but he in turn nearly killed me, so, in a way, we were even. I opened my mouth, deciding it would be safe enough to ask if he was alright, but even before the first syllable left me, he was gone in a puff of smoke. _Shimatta…I didn't mean to…blow up at him…_that _badly…_I slowly got to my feet, my legs shaking as I shuffled towards my bed, then sat down on it with a sigh. _Great…I assaulted a jounin…because he was worried about me…but he _did_ start the fight…_ I bit my lip, knowing that there was no reason to blame Kakashi for this, I had started the entire thing. I never knew when to just let things lay well enough alone. I fell back onto my bed and looked up at my ceiling until I fell into a fitful sleep.

/End Flashback…(A/N: now wasn't that fun?)/

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, glaring at Kakashi. I couldn't bring myself to look at him…my conscience was too guilty. His nose probably was still aching and he probably had gotten black eyes to boot, but those would have faded by now, but the broken cartilage was longer to repair. Unless he had gone to the hospital for a healing jutsu, but then he would have had to explain where he had gotten it from…and I had yet to hear that someone found out Kakashi had been in a fight, let alone a fight with me.

"Maa…Naruto, I wanted to talk to Iruka-sensei…" My back stiffened at that statement and I glanced at Naruto, who was giving me a sly grin. I gave him my best pleading puppy-dog look, but Naruto ignored my obvious request to not leave me alone with Kakashi. He slid off of his stool and his hand brushed my shoulder as he leaned towards me and whispered into my ear.

"You better tell me what you did later, Iruka-nii…" I turned in my seat enough to glare at Naruto's back as he left the ramen stand, then went back to poking at my ramen. I didn't look up until I was certain Kakashi was sitting in the stool vacated by the blonde. He waited until my eyes met his before he sighed.

"…about…the other day…I-"

"It was my fault…I went too far…gomen nasai…" I said softly, glancing back down at my ramen as I said my apology. I couldn't even look at him, my conscience was so guilty. He didn't deserve the broken nose, or whatever other bruises I had given him, but I noticed my apology did nothing to calm him down. He was radiating anxiety as he turned his stool so that he was facing me instead of the counter.

"Iie…I…I…nearly killed you…."

"I deserved it for being such a prick…" I replied, smiling sardonically at my ramen. And here I was, thinking he was the biggest prick of all time, whereas I was far worse than him. He had yet to insult me, even though I had warranted it. "Um…how's your nose?"

"You broke it…and two ribs…thankfully Anko knows enough about healing jutsu to mend them a little…" I watched him, noticing that he was sitting perfectly straight, but leaned forward as he flagged down the owner and ordered a bowl of ramen. As he did so, I could see his muscles were tightening in pain. Those ribs were still not healed completely, so they must have stung quite a bit, and for his nose…I winced as I remembered the one time I had broken my nose. It had been years ago, and I had immediately gotten a medic nin to fix it, but it had ached terribly at the time. I couldn't imagine having to walk around with that pain for days on end because I was too proud to go see a proper medical person.

"Gomen…"

"Don't apologize…you just made me realize I underestimated you…" Kakashi, turning to look at me, curved his eye upwards, but not without a slight wince on his part. "…I've been…thinking for the past few days…I…I want to apologize…for whatever I did…that upset you…" I raised an eyebrow. This was just pitiful…he was trying to make up with me, even though I didn't really like him that much to begin with. I sighed, having to acknowledge the attempt, and smiled.

"No apologies necessary…but could I do something about your nose and ribs? I'm no medic nin, but I know enough to mend bones and fix noses…it comes in handy when you have about forty children to watch over…" I could see, through the fabric of his mask, that Kakashi had smiled at that, and was surprised to see him nod.

"Anko refused to do more than set the bones since I wouldn't tell her what happened…" Kakashi commented as he turned towards his food, his back stiff as he pulled the bowl closer to himself so he wouldn't have to bend. I looked away, knowing that it would be rude to watch him eat after he had put so much time into keeping his face hidden from everyone. I studied the piece of pork floating in my bowl for a moment, surprised that it only took Kakashi that moment to eat his entire bowl of ramen. I looked back at him when I heard his chopsticks clink against the bowl. He was readjusting his mask, but I still caught a glimpse of a very painful-looking bruise on the side of his nose, that stretched across his left cheek. "So, what was Naruto saying about me?"

I looked at Kakashi, wondering what he was talking about, but then remembered what Naruto and my conversation had ended on. My face flushed as I turned my face away from Kakashi, digging into my vest for my wallet. "…nothing…"

"Maa, Iruka-sensei…that makes me even more curious…" Kakashi moaned as he slid a hand into his own vest and pulled out his wallet before I had a chance to locate mine. I watched him through lidded eyes as he placed money on the counter. Being such a good customer at the ramen stand, I knew that was far overpaying one bowl. It was enough for three and then some. _Mate…he's paying for our ramen?…it's kind of a sweet gesture…_I thought to myself but still took out my wallet and fingered through the bills in there. _Naruto raided it again…he's going to get it one of these days…_I thought to myself as I began to pull out enough to cover my bill, but froze when I felt a warm hand brush against my own. I looked down and a small smile crossed my lips when I saw Kakashi's larger hand wrapped around mine, pushing the money back into my wallet. "My treat…"

"Kaka-" I somehow lost my voice as I watched Kakashi smile, or what I assumed was a smile, since I couldn't see his mouth very well at this angle. Somehow, I could tell this smile wasn't one of his fake grins, but an actual expression of pleasure. I looked at the visible part of his face and wondered how I had overlooked the fact he was quite handsome, even though I had no idea what the rest of his face looked like. I pondered over this and noticed that Kakashi was watching me oddly. I didn't realize until I had regained the ability to move that his hand was still resting on mine. Kakashi, who had obviously forgotten about this fact as well, glanced down at our hands and quickly pulled away. I could see, around the top of his mask, his face was turning pink and his hand went behind his head as he smiled, only what could be called, sheepishly.

"…sumimasen, Iruka-sensei…" Kakashi said softly, a slight chuckle coming out underneath his words. I smiled, knowing that my blush wasn't that noticeable-I loved having dark skin-and slowly got off of my stool, waiting until Kakashi had done the same, then began walking towards my home. "So, what did Naruto say about me?"

"You won't let it go, will you?" I asked, glancing over at Kakashi, who shook his head smugly, his eye still curved upwards. He was amused by the fact this question was making me flustered…and he probably had a pretty good idea why. "It was nothing, really…"

"Iruka-sensei! That's not fair! I wanna know!" Kakashi pouted, with his arms folded across his chest, which only made me smirk. If he had known what Naruto had said, I would never be able to show my face in public again. Naruto knew Kakashi far better than I did…and he seemed to think we would be great together…but why was far beyond me. I merely shook my head and quickened my pace back towards my apartment, leaving Kakashi to whine in my wake.

"Coming, Kakashi-sensei?" I called back, only slowing my ground-consuming stride enough that Kakashi was able to catch up with me in a few seconds. With his legs, he could easily outdistance me in minutes, but we quickly fell into a comfortable pace.

"So…how have you been doing, Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi asked, his eye landing on me before he quickly looked away. I smiled, trying not to make it obvious I knew he was watching me. Or that he was still blushing.

"Alright…I'm still a little bruised, but other than that…fine," I replied truthfully. I didn't mean to mention the bruises intentionally to hurt Kakashi, but knew that, if he had looked at my neck, he would be able to see finger-shaped bruises along my neck. Thankfully, my vest was able to cover most of it up, along with my shirt, but if you knew the bruises were there, they were all too noticeable. No one had yet asked me about them, not even Naruto, but I knew he had noticed them when he had seen me the other day, but thankfully refrained from asking about them.

"How's your training?" Kakashi said curiously, one hand sliding into his pocket. I watched him out of the corner of my eye and twitched when I saw him pull out a orange book. _That's…_I recognized the book…it was a big thing in the academy, but against rules, so I had quite a few confiscated and they were currently locked up in a drawer in my classroom. I had never read one, and I didn't even have the urge to, but wasn't about to lecture someone on _reading_. Only when I heard Kakashi snicker did I begin to get annoyed.

"It's fine…Gai and I have sex every day…" I replied, glaring at Kakashi. If he had been listening to me, I would have seen some kind of reaction, but instead I got a placid 'that's good' out of him. "Gai has an amazing amount of stamina…and he's huge…"

Not even this got a response out of the jounin. "He is…" Kakashi commented as we continued on walking. I watched him and his perverted book for another moment, then smirked when Kakashi froze. As if it had finally hit him, he turned to look at me, his single visible eye wide in amazement. "…maa?"

"…next time, pay attention if you ask a question…" I stated before I turned away from Kakashi and smiled. The look on his face was priceless, but what had made me actually smile was the fact he was so surprised, he had dropped his porn novel and hadn't realized it until I began walking again. He quickly picked up the book and, from the corner of my eye, I saw him put it back in a pocket. Kakashi took a few, long strides to catch up with me, then just stared.

"Were you serious?"

"…" I stared at him in wonder. Could someone be so dense? I prayed to whatever God existed that it wasn't possible, but my prayer wasn't answered as I realized he actually had believed me. "Iie! It's not true!…I would never…" I replied venomously, noticing Kakashi relaxed as soon as he heard my answer, but the slight flinch didn't escape my eye either. _He…is disappointed?…a second ago, he was afraid I _was _sleeping with Gai…and now…he's…hurt?_ I sighed inwardly then watched as Kakashi looked down at the ground. _No wonder most people think of him as an enigma…he's too confusing to understand…_

"…so…your taijutsu getting better?" Kakashi asked, trying to cover up his moment of hurt with a curved eye. I nodded as we took a left onto the street my house was on. I watched Kakashi for another moment, only looking away as we approached my apartment.

"And how is your training with Sasuke going?" I questioned as we walked towards my front door, Kakashi falling a step behind me as I opened my door and walked in. This time, I didn't lock my door since I knew I'd be back in a little while. Kakashi had obviously noticed that my door was unlocked and, before he got a chance to say anything about it, I turned to look at him. "No one's going to rob me Kakashi…or attack me, so calm down…and you've already found out that I can take care of myself."

"You're right about that…" Kakashi commented as he brought a gloved hand up to his face and gingerly touched his nose. I smiled at him, waiting for him step into the house before I took off my sandals and began walking towards my living room. Kakashi quickly followed my example and I watched him set his sandals down next to mine. Looking at our sandals next to each other, I realized how much larger Kakashi was than me. His shoes alone were at least two or three sizes bigger than my own. "Sasuke's training is going well…I think he'll do well in the exam…"

"That's a good thing…Naruto finally was able to summon a frog…and one without a tail," I said as I walked into my living room and waited until Kakashi took a seat on the couch before I sat down on my coffee table across from the jounin. Kakashi watched me, his eyebrow raised, as I looked down at my floor. _This'll be interesting…_I thought to myself as I glanced back up at the silver-haired man. "I'll need you to take off your shirt…" Kakashi studied me for a moment, but complied as he slowly took off his vest, but was obviously having a painful time trying to get his shirt off. I wondered inwardly how he had gotten the shirt on in the first place as I gestured for him to raise his arms. Kakashi, for once, listened to me and put his arms above his head and I gently pulled the tucked shirt out from his belted pants, then slowly began sliding it up his torso, making sure I wasn't hurting him. I couldn't remember exactly where I hit him, so I was careful in pulling the tight cloth up. I bit my lip when I saw the beginning of white bandages. After a few minutes of battling with the shirt, trying to assure myself that I wasn't hitting any bruises or broken ribs as I did so, I finally got the thing off and was able to study the bandages wrapped around Kakashi's entire chest, from right below his nipples to his last rib.

"Anko wrapped it for me…" Kakashi stated as he looked away. I could have guessed he didn't do it himself…it was too neat for the jounin…but I could see that he was uncomfortable by the fact he was half naked and I had yet to help him in any sense of the term. I smiled sheepishly, then began to slowly remove the bandages, making sure the roll them up as I exposed Kakashi's pale skin. I couldn't help but wonder how someone could be so pale, but I reminded myself that the man probably didn't have much time to sunbathe and obviously was pale normally.

Once I had all of the bandages in a neat bundle, I sat back and studied the discolored skin across Kakashi's ribcage. _I could see why he was sitting so stiffly before._ With that thought, I gently touched either side of the massive bruise, noticing that Kakashi shivered slightly at my touch. "Gomen…I have cold hands…" I said softly as I let healing chakra flow through my hands into the injury, in order to 'see' the wound. I had learned, when I first was being taught healing jutsu (a requirement for all teachers in the academy), that you had to be able to image the body-every aspect of it-perfectly before even attempting to heal a part of it. If not, I had learned from a few tries on mice and other injured rodents, you could do more damage than what you had started out with. Remembering that vital fact, I carefully traced my fingers along Kakashi's ribs, noting exactly where the breaks were, how many blood vessels were broken, even how many organs were bruised. Once I had finished my extensive study of Kakashi's midsection, I placed one hand in the center of his bruise and brought the other up to my face. I quickly created the seals necessary to mend Kakashi's bones and reduce the bruising and watched, with a little satisfaction, as my hand began to glow green, as did the jounin's middle. I could feel the bones shifting underneath my hand, regrowing the hard tissue so that it would be impossible to tell it was ever broken in the first place.

Next, were the bruises. That was a simple task, which only took me a second to heal, but I still slowly pulled away from Kakashi's warm chest, meticulously checking for any abnormal marks, or a place where the jutsu didn't take effect, but there were no such things. His skin was perfectly smooth, had no coloration except for his own pale skin tone. I smiled as Kakashi looked down at his chest and brought a hand up to press against his once-broken ribs. His eye curved upwards as he raised his head to look at me.

"You should be a medic nin, Iruka-sensei…usually they don't even bother with healing broken bones so perfectly…or healing bruises…" I blushed slightly at his compliment. I then glanced up at his nose and wondered how we'd do this. "Maa…do I have to take off the mask?"

"I won't look," I replied, which Kakashi took as a 'yes' to his question. "Healing doesn't take sight…" I shut my eyes and, as an added measure, turned my head to the side. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt Kakashi's hand brush against my own, then wrap around mine. He pulled my hand up and I was amazed to feel warm flesh a moment later. I quickly located his nose and slowly traced my fingers along his cheek, stopping when I felt the end of his prominent cheekbone. I then began my survey of the other side of his face, noticing that the scar over his Sharingan descended down to the middle of his cheek and that the scar was not just a discoloration, but an actual depression in his skin. Other than the scar, Kakashi's face was unmarred, both sides symmetrical, which made me wonder what he was trying to hide with a mask. I decided to ask later as I brought my hands back to his nose and made quick work of repairing it. Cartilage was far easier to mend than bone, but I was slightly reluctant to move my hands away from his face.

Against my better judgment, I slid my fingers across Kakashi's scarred cheek, then began moving downwards when I reached his sideburns. I was slightly amused to find his hair was very soft and silky. I stopped my fingers when I reached his jaw line. Tracing along it, I discovered Kakashi had a delicate jaw, almost feminine in its shape. I smiled at the slight irony of him having a feminine jaw, but hair prickled against my fingertips as I brought my fingers back down to Kakashi's chin. His beard was short, as if he hadn't shaved for, maybe, a day or two, but oddly fitting of the jounin's lazy character. I then began to study his chin. If I was a 'chin' kind of person, I'd have to describe his as amazing. Perfectly shaped and sized for his face. I brought my other hand to his face and brought both to rest on either side of his mouth. I could feel dimples in his cheeks, which made me realize he was smiling. I chuckled at that discovery. Naruto would never let the jounin live it down if he knew Kakashi had dimples. Those dimples destroyed the 'hard ass' image I had of Kakashi. Realizing he was a walking oxymoron, I became even more curious to picture his entire face. I pulled one hand closer to Kakashi's mouth, feeling the man's warm breath against my fingers as I traced his lower lip. It was softer than I would have expected and, as I moved to trace his upper lip, realized that his lips weren't in the least bit misshapen or unusual. Perhaps the only thing unusual about Kakashi's face was that he was smiling, even though I was probably overstepping the 'personal space' line. I felt his lips brush against my fingers and, out of surprise more than anything else, I jerked my hands away.

"G-gomen, Kakashi-sensei…" I stammered, turning my head away from where Kakashi was sitting. _I just…touched his face…no one knows what he looks like under his mask…and I now have a pretty good idea…_ I thought to myself, wondering for a moment why Kakashi had allowed me to feel his face to such a degree I could almost picture him perfectly. My face warmed up when that picture came to mind. I didn't have to actually see his face to know that he was far more than handsome…he was…beyond words. "I-I didn't mean to…"

"Maa…Iruka-sensei…you can open your eyes…" I opened one eye hesitantly when I heard no conviction…no hatred in Kakashi's voice. Seeing that he had his mask back in place, I looked at him with both eyes. I could see clearly see that his cheeks and nose were a bright pink, not even the mask could hide that fact, but I could also see he was smiling underneath his mask.

"Dimples?" It was the only thing I could think of saying at that moment. Kakashi looked away, but I could see the smile didn't leave his covered face. Considering how he was trying to look away enough to hide his face, I could tell my comment had gotten him to turn bright red.

"…ehehehe…you're the only person alive who knows I have them…" Kakashi said as he slowly stood up and grabbed his shirt. I tried to divert my eyes, but couldn't stop myself from noticing that he was very well built-which was quite common for shinobi-but he lacked the usual muscle mass that all other men had. Despite the fact I was smaller than him by at least two heads, I knew I had more muscle, and probably weighed more than him. I could only think of two words to describe Kakashi-or the physical part of him that I had discovered today-delicate, but also perfect. He was perfectly constructed, but for some reason hid that fact. _Probably so he doesn't have a fan club like Sasuke…_ I thought to myself as I smiled at Kakashi.

"And if I tell Naruto…everyone in the village will know within two days…" I threatened with a mocking tone. Kakashi caught my joke and snickered. He nodded his head in agreement, but still refused to turn and look at me as he put his shirt back on. _What a shame…_I nearly fell off of the coffee table with that thought. I had never had perverse thoughts…especially considering a colleague….especially another man who happened to be very secretive and didn't want people to know how beautiful he actually was…_especially_ a man so far out of my reach!

"You wouldn't do that to me, Iruka-sensei!" Kakashi protested as soon as his shirt was back on, his visible glancing at me for a moment. "…So…umm…a-arigatou…for healing me…"

"I couldn't exactly let you suffer…" I replied, watching as Kakashi put his vest back on. The newfound perverse side of my mind cried at this addition to Kakashi's wardrobe. I slowly stood up and waited for Kakashi to say something, but when he didn't and the silence began growing uncomfortable, I opened my mouth. "W-why don't you stay for some tea? …we kind of got off on the bad foot so far…"

Kakashi obviously agreed with me as his eye curved up and he began following me towards the kitchen table. Within a few minutes, we were sipping green tea and I began learning more about Kakashi than anyone else knew, I'm sure.

"What's with the mask?" was the first question I asked, but the only one not answered as we sat and talked in a comfortable atmosphere of friends.

/heehee/

Authoress: okay…thirteen pages…and it's 1:30 AM…so I shall be going to bed…/touches her teapot/ it's all gone…phooey

Kakashi: IRUKA MOLESTED MY FAAAAAACE//cries/

Authoress: I know…I didn't do a good description of Kakashi's face…but Iruka has yet to _see_ it…and that is where things'll get good…hehehe…

Iruka: so…if we're the PAIRING…why did you say /looks up to last word of chapter/ FRIENDS!

Authoress: calm down, hornball…if you remember…one of the things _you_ wanted was someone to talk to…someone not only interested in sex? Ring any bells…/sighs/ really, once you let them touch Kakashi's face and see him half naked…they all want to sleep with him…

Gai: YOOOOSH!

Kakashi//looks at a pissed off Iruka/ it was only once…and I have a reason…

Iruka: oh?

Kakashi: …I was drunk?

Gai: YOU WERE SO YOUTHFUL!…AND THE WAY YOU WERE SEME?…/cries/ AND THAT ONE TIME, AT THE BEACH…

Iruka//passes out from the overload of images/

Kakashi//picks up a shuriken and attacks/ URUSAI! I WAS HORNY, ON A DESERTED BEACH WITH ONE OTHER PERSON AND I HADN'T HAD _ANY _SINCE OBITO DIED!

Authoress: okay…you all know that something had to have been going on between those two at one point, right?…it just has to be…maybe I'll incorporate it into the story…but noooooo lemons with those two…unless everyone who reviews says they want it…cuz' that's going above and beyond the call of the Yaoi duty…/cries at the images/ it's enough to harm even me…so, until the next chapter, SAYONARA!


	3. A Burning Itch

Authoress /cries/ I had two pages already written…and the program up and died on me…without saving…so I'm rewriting this chappie…

Iruka: …it's your fault for typing so quickly the computer can't keep up with you…

Authoress: …/sniffles/ but I had a moment of sheer genius…

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…it would soo be beyond PG-13 if I did…and I don't even own my computer…(that'd be my parents'…)

Chapter Three

(Kakashi's POV)

I watched as Iruka, yet again, turned over in his bed. I hadn't meant to watch the chuunin sleep, but there was something about him that intrigued me, that made me continue to study him long after our pleasant visit was over. Perhaps it was the fact that he was such a complicated person. I usually was very good at understanding people from the first impression I got from them, but not so with the brunette. At first, he was simply a stuck up teacher. Then, he was a prankster hiding under the title of a kind, polite teacher. Again, my image of him changed when I realized that he was actually an amazing shinobi hiding under the rank of chuunin-who also had an astonishingly small amount of patience. He was quick to anger, but even quicker to apologize. After talking to him for a few hours, over about ten pots of tea-and a marathon bathroom break (damn my small bladder)-I had discovered another side of the multifaceted man. He was intelligent enough to challenge even me in wits-something I hadn't had in years. Ever since my sensei had died thirteen years ago, there really wasn't anyone I could have really talked to, whether it was over politics-which he was very well informed on-or jutsu. The man was…amazing in every way.

It had surprised me at first to know that he could easily become a jounin, or ANBU, if he wanted it. That had gotten me even more interested in the man-when he had unintentionally mentioned he turned down the jounin position. After about half an hour of pleading, he told me that he had refused to become a jounin because he thought it would be too much work at the time. That had unsettled me for a few minutes. He was, needless to say, the least lazy person I had ever met. He was over ambitious to the point of being anal about things. He was a perfectionist when it came to his classes and was a neat freak in his own home. Iruka was, in all behavioral ways, the complete opposite of me. That fact also interested me. He was so easy to please, it seemed, since he had said he was completely happy with his position as a chuunin teacher. It was too bad, though, he would have made a great addition to the jounin ranks. Even the ANBU teams would have battled to have him join them, but Iruka was content with the fact he could help the village by training the next generation.

After prodding him a little more, Iruka also added that he hadn't taken the jounin position when he was first offered it years ago was because he was taking care of Naruto at the time. I was stunned to find out that, for over half of the ball of energy's life, Iruka had been his caretaker. When I asked him about it, Iruka actually looked a little sad when he told me that, up until a few months before he graduated Naruto, the boy had lived with him in the spacious apartment. I couldn't even begin to imagine the crap Iruka had to put up with while living with that hellion.

I smiled when I saw Iruka roll over again, making his walrus pajama pants visible though the window's opened shades. I thought it was cute that he had folded down all his sheets, making sure they wouldn't touch his feet as he slept, then proceeded to throw all of his pillows onto a chest that was near the bed. I was a person who could sleep anywhere, but I loved the comforts of a bed with sheets and pillows when I had the chance to sleep in one. Iruka, on the other hand, sprawled across his bed, content with the flat surface as he shifted every now and again to find a more comfortable position. Currently, he was laying on his stomach, with his arms spread out to touch either corner of the bed and his legs stretched out far enough to hang over the bottom of the bed slightly.

I took a deep breath, remembering what I was supposed to be doing in a few days. I had to train Sasuke because, in three days, the final test in the Chuunin exam would begin and the boy wasn't fully prepared. I had faith in him-knowing he would win against any opponent, unless he was forced to fight against Naruto or that odd redhead, Gaara. For all his icy disposition, I could tell Sasuke couldn't hurt Naruto seriously enough to stop the blonde. The boy was stubborn to the point that he would rather be injured fatally than admit that Sasuke was better than him. I took a deep breath, knowing in my heart that, if it came to that, Sasuke might actually do that, but not for the purpose of the chuunin exams. One day, not right now, but in the future, that idiot Uchiha _would_ find the one way to hurt his teammate and use it to his advantage. I felt the corners of my mouth turn up in a sarcastic smile. Someday, Sasuke would break Naruto-it was only a matter of time.

I had overheard a large portion of Iruka's and Naruto's conversation today, catching that Naruto had fallen for Sasuke…and that they had an ongoing joke about Iruka and myself, but what exactly Naruto had insinuated by commenting Iruka would be forced to live with me still eluded me. For a hopeful moment, I thought it might have meant that Iruka harbored some feelings for me, but quickly dismissed such an idea. He had been fast to say he'd never do such things when I had asked him if he was serious about Gai. Okay, it was a stupid question. _Any_one and Gai was a scary image and, having been drunk once to the point I was glad I could remember very little, I knew that to be true. That idea brought me back to the whole 'Naruto falling in love with Sasuke' bit. I knew it was bound to happen-there was just something about their relationship that went far beyond mere rivalry. It was too bad Sasuke was such an emotional cripple or else he'd have noticed Naruto's feelings and had been happy to return such affection. Anyone would love Naruto's attention. There was just something about the boy that was so uplifting that even I was caught feeling _optimistic_ when around him. That was ironic, since Naruto had one of the worst childhoods-even compared to Sasuke-and he could still love without restraint. It was terrible to know that all it would take were a few words from his rival to make Naruto's world crash around him. Sasuke knew it too-perhaps not _why_, but he knew he had that power over the blonde-and it was obvious he took pleasure in teasing Naruto with that information.

Rejection was the one thing that Naruto couldn't take…that no one in his place could stand. Even I had strived to be accepted when I was younger. When I finally realized that people didn't care what I did, so long as they knew who I was, I stopped being ambitious. I started to act like a lazy person, only doing what was an absolute necessity to my missions-and noticed that people still treated me as an enigma. I had graduated when I was still a child, had become the youngest chuunin, at that time, and even became a jounin, then ANBU member, with my attempts to prove myself. But where could I have gone from there? I had no friends, no teammates, no sensei…nothing to keep me company when I went to the memorial site and looked at all those familiar names. I knew my father's name wasn't there, but I couldn't help but imagine that it was, along with Obito's, Rin's, the Yondaime's…the only people who had ever meant something to me. Ever since they died, I had kept myself away from relationships, but there was something about Iruka that made me want to restart; I wanted to get to know him…and, perhaps one day, I could call him a true 'friend.'

/\

(Iruka's POV)

"Iruka-sensei!" I turned around and was hit with a blur of pink and red. I glanced down and smiled at the Haruno girl as she hugged my waist. The last time she had embraced me like this, her head had only reached my thigh. Now, her head was to the middle of my chest. It made me realize how quickly time had been passing by-how quickly children were growing up.

"Ohayo, Sakura-cha," I replied, chuckling as she slowly let go of me, her face turning a pink to match her hair. She looked around nervously, her fingers folded in front of her, playing with the stems of three flowers. "Who are those for?"

"…I was going to the hospital…to check on everyone…" Sakura said softly, her green eyes rising to meet mine. I was surprised to see that her eyes reflected fear. I knew Naruto had gone with Jiraiya-sama to find Tsunade, so it was pretty much assured that Sasuke and Lee would be fine once she returned, but there was something bothering the girl.

"What's wrong?" I couldn't help but ask as she continued walking towards the hospital. Out of an impulsive idea, to visit Sasuke, I began following her and then remembered she held three daffodils. _Three…who else is she going to see?_ I wondered as the girl turned her face to look at me.

"I…I was worried about Lee-kun…and Sasuke-kun…even Kakashi-sensei…" My eyes widened at that last name. I had thought Kakashi must have been on a mission or something, considering I hadn't seen him since before the last part of the chuunin exams. I hadn't even considered the idea he had been injured to the point of being hospitalized-Kakashi couldn't be hurt that easily-but from the way Sakura's voice shook as she mentioned her beloved sensei's name, dread overcame me.

I had heard, through our gossip network in the mission room, about Itachi and another member of Akatsuki being in Konoha, and that they had gone after Naruto-and Sasuke was caught in the crossfire. Genma had been the one to tell me that Sasuke was currently in a coma that his brother had put him in with his Sharingan, but no one had mentioned anything about Kakashi lately. It was as if he had disappeared-or if someone ordered the band of jounin not to mention Kakashi. "…what happened to him?" I asked, not having to state Kakashi's name. Somehow, Sakura knew who I was talking about and sighed in response.

"…I heard from one of the nurses that he had been fighting Sasuke's brother…and now he's just like Sasuke-kun…" Sakura replied softly, her eyes watering as I processed that information. _Kakashi's…in a coma…like Sasuke…from the Sharingan? But…he has the Sharingan as well…wouldn't he have been able to fight Itachi then? If I would have known…I would have visited him…why didn't anyone tell me?_

I already knew the answer to my last question. Kakashi was a jounin of amazing abilities. And Konoha was in the middle of an unusual 'war,' if it could be called that. If enemy shinobi had heard that he was currently incapacitated, they would jump at the opportunity to kill him. The shinobi protecting the hospital wouldn't be able to hold off all attacks and, eventually, someone would succeed in harming Kakashi. I took a deep breath, feeling less 'out of things' now that I knew why I had been kept in the dark. It was a small comfort, but with everything happening lately, it was gladly taken.

/\

(still Iruka's POV)

I stared at the flower sitting in the small glass vase and sighed. Sakura had left me with Kakashi a few hours ago, but I had yet to acquire enough courage to move closer to the unconscious jounin. There was a threatening aura around him-as if he didn't want me to be there-but I couldn't help but sit there and pray for his recovery. I had, at first, been frightened by his pale face, which was very close to the shade of the sheets that lay around him. He looked so weak and helpless-and I could do nothing to help him except wait for Naruto to return with Tsunade-sama.

I sighed, finally moving my uncomfortable chair closer to Kakashi and set it next to the bed so that I could easily reach the man and brush away a few strands of hair from his face. Seeing him now, like this, hit a nerve. And it _hurt_ much more than I had ever thought possible. Kakashi wasn't supposed to be in a coma-he was one of the greatest shinobi Konohagure had to offer! He was meant to take on dangerous missions outside the village and come back, albeit with a few scrapes-but he would come back. The infamous Copy-cat Nin wasn't supposed to be susceptible to the Sharingan. _What could Itachi have done to him to make him like this? _I wondered to myself as I pulled my hand away from the jounin's face.

"Kakashi-sensei…baka…" I whispered as I sat back slightly, my eyes still locked on the jounin's peaceful expression. Even though half of his face was covered, I knew he must have had the smallest of frowns across his face. I could picture his face, in its entirety, with that minor displeased expression, which made my chest tighten. I mentally shook my head. This wasn't how you thought about your friends. And that was all that Kakashi was to me. A friend. An extremely handsome, perverted friend, but nothing other than a pleasant person to be around-when he wasn't being perverted or acting like an idiot. Even though I repeated, in my head, that Kakashi was just a friend, I couldn't help but wish it could be more.

/\

Authoress:…BIACH!……….I just wrote, like, seven more pages…..and my computer frickin' dies again…so all you see above me /waves hands upwards/ is what saved….grrr…and it was really getting involved too!…following the story perfectly and such…so…I shall attempt to rewrite (again!)…

/\

(still Iruka's POV)

I sighed as I looked at the scroll on my desk. From the chicken-scratch writing, I knew it was Konohamaru's, which only made me sigh again, with even more longing. But, being the always punctual teacher, I picked up the red pen next to the pile of the already red-coated papers and began marking. Within five seconds, I had already begun wishing that I was allowed to smack students. _How does he spell Konohagure wrong!_ I wondered in amazement as I looked down at the paper, which was already littered in red marks, most of them being so heavily written, the paper had begun tearing. Growling under my breath, I tightened my grip on the pen and, much to my own chagrin, the pen exploded, coating Konohamaru's paper in splotches of red. It looked as if someone had taken red paint, or blood, to the history essay. And, as my class policies went, if I had done something to a student's paper and couldn't grade it, they got an automatic A+. It was plan B, just in case. I never thought that that particular rule would ever be used, though.

I was about to curse violently when I heard a snicker. The sound was deep, but high at the same time. There was only one person I knew who could accomplish such a feat. But, as far as I knew, he was still in a hospital bed.

"Maa, Iruka-sensei, it's already eight o'clock…and you haven't taken a break yet…" that voice commented as I felt a smile tug at my lips. Not only did that particular tone mean a friend was finally out of a coma, but that my most beloved student had finally returned. "You should eat something…"

"I ate at lunch…" I replied, closing my eyes as I attempted to find the origin of the, now, noticeable chakra. Now that I knew the jounin was out of the hospital, I'd have to keep my guard up at all times or else I'd never live it down if Kakashi got the better of me. Surprisingly, the Copy-Cat Nin wasn't even in the classroom, but hanging upside down from a ledge outside my classroom window.

"Maa…that was hours ago!" Kakashi exclaimed as I reopened my eyes and my slight smile blew into a full grin when I saw that familiar curved eye and silver hair. "I'm hungry!"

"Well, you should go eat then," I replied, jokingly, as I slowly stood up and feigned indifference as I went in search of something to clean my stained hand. I had a bottle of cleaner somewhere, but for the life of me, I couldn't find it in its usual spot. I glanced around the shelf, noticing that nothing else was missing except my favorite cleaner. _Kakashi-sensei…_I thought to myself, whirling around when I felt something poke into my back. Faced with a smiling jounin with my bottle in his outstretched hand, I couldn't help but chuckle. "When did you wake up?" I asked, taking the bottle from Kakashi, who was obviously surprised I didn't say anything about him taking my cleaner.

"A couple of hours…before lunch…" Kakashi answered, his voice telling me more than his words. I sighed when I realized what he meant, then gently hit him with the roll of paper towels I had picked up to clean my hands.

"Baka…you've been in a coma for weeks…and when you wake up, you come to watch me all day…without eating anything…really, you're worse than my students…" I pointed the roll at Kakashi's nose as I reprimanded him, but couldn't stay mad at that smiling face. "Alright, once I'm done, I'll treat you to dinner…"

"Yosh!" Kakashi cried, moving so quickly, I didn't have time to react. The jounin picked me up in his lanky arms and swung me around in a circle until I finally regained my senses and started beating the top of his silver head with my paper towels until he let me back down.

"Kakashi-sensei!" I cried between (badly) muffled snickers. It was…fun to be picked up by the tall man. Not that I'd ever admit it, though! The jounin's chuckling made me realize that my face was warm and I quickly turned around in attempts to salvage what little pride I had left. His childish antics were surprising, but I wasn't going to let him see how taken aback I was by his actions. _This means war, Kakashi-sensei…_I thought to myself with an almost evil laugh. As I went through a quick list of all the 'tools of the trade' I currently had in my house, I realized I had to go shopping for some things soon.

"I'm hungry!" Kakashi whined as I turned back around, my face finally under control. I sighed, pointing at the red-stained papers and desk with my matching hand. Obviously getting my unspoken message, Kakashi whimpered. "It'll take forever to clean that!"

"It's too bad I don't have more than one of me, or else I could go make dinner while someone cleans this up…" I mumbled 'to myself,' as I looked at Kakashi with my perfected 'puppy dog eyes.' Kakashi had no chance with that attack, not even with all his time around Naruto. Not even those big blue eyes compared to my doe eyes. And the jounin must have realized that halfway between his walk from me to the desk, cleaner and paper towels in hand, judging from how he froze for a moment, then shook his head and continued walking towards the desk.

With a smirk that, to anyone who knew me as a child, meant trouble, I gracefully left the room and slid the door shut. As soon as I was sure Kakashi wasn't paying attention to me, I quickly brought my hands up to my face and used a transportation jutsu. A few moments and two clouds of smoke later, I found myself in front of one of my favorite stores-an apothecary's shop. It just so happened that I had worked there as a child, where I had discovered that a jutsu wasn't the only was you could play pranks on someone. And these ways were much more sneaky-and far more ruthless, if need be. Smirking to myself, I walked into the shop and picked up a small bottle that contained a root I had come to love.

"Iruka-kun? Is that really you?" a quavering voice said softly as I looked up from the bottle. An old man peered over the counter on the other side of the shop, the only parts of him visible were his balding head and thick, black rimmed glasses. I smiled as I walked towards the owner and bent down slightly so he could get a better look at me. "Why, it is you! I haven't seen you in…let's see…five years! My, my, time sure goes by quickly…"

"Hai, it does, Sensei," I replied, the smile never leaving my face as I placed the small bottle down on the counter. The old man took a look at it, then up to me with a raised eyebrow. "A friend of mine needs to be taught a lesson."

The man shook his head, chuckling. "…I don't want to be caught in the crossfire between shinobi, Iruka-kun…don't tell me what he did, or what you're going to do…" he said quietly, but his gaze made me smile. The old man was a gossip addict, especially where it concerned me and/or pranks. It wasn't surprising he had fallen in love with Naruto the first time he met the boy.

Keeping names out of it, since I couldn't chance Kakashi hearing my plans before I got everything ready, I _innocently_ looked around the small shop. "An older friend of mine…surprised me…and I was just _thinking_ that his silver hair might look…better in a different color…or something else, if you have any ideas…"

"Silver hair, hm?…by any chance, may I have heard about this friend?" the old man replied, smiling as a white eyebrow raised over his massive glasses. I nodded my head, which made that bushy eyebrow move even higher. "…oh, I think dyed hair is a little childish for such a…celebrity…"

"I know…but I don't want to…go overboard…he's expecting me to have dinner ready by the time he's done cleaning my classroom…" I replied, my smile mirroring the apothecary's. The old man chuckled at this, probably remembering all the times I had refused to cook dinner and instead had gone out to eat ramen.

"So, how exactly were you going to dye his hair?" the old man asked, curiosity finally getting the better of him. I pursed my lips, shaking my head. Tricks of the trade were never meant to be told. He shook his finger at me when he saw I wasn't going to tell, but easily let it go. "Is there anything else you'd like for your…friend?"

"Hmm…do you still have those red leaves?" I questioned, my eyes glancing around the store for any other necessities. It had been years since I had come for 'business' reasons and in those years, the old man had gotten some new ingredients.

"I'll give the whole case to you!" the old man exclaimed, throwing his short hands up in the air. "Why on earth you ordered a whole box of those plants from the Village of Sand, I'll never know. No one else has yet figured out a way to _remove _them from that box! My poor Ino tried to clean out the storeroom last week and has been itching ever since!"

I bit my lip, remembering I had heard something about the blonde girl being in the hospital for a new form of poison ivy. Oddly, I hadn't remembered at the time that the girl's grandfather was none other than the apothecary. "Gomen…I'll take the whole box with me. I don't have to worry about Naruto going into it anymore…" That was the reason the box had been left here when I began teaching-I didn't want to have the ball of energy itching himself raw due to his overly-curious nature.

"True…so, I've heard he's returned with the new Hokage…" the old man commented, waving for me to come around the counter. I smiled as I walked around the wooden table and quickly moved to help the old man off of his stool. When I had worked here as a child, the old man had always been taller than me-until I hit puberty. Then, I shot upwards while, it seemed, he only got shorter. Now, five years after I stopped working alongside the apothecary, the old man reached my mid-thigh, but I still held the same respect of the man. He had proven that, despite the fact he was a civilian, he could still beat my behind into submission when I was growing up. It had never crossed my mind to use any weapons beside my mind and knowledge when I was around him-and now I was glad he had taken such a liking to me and my education.

"He has…but I haven't gotten the chance to talk with Naruto yet," I replied softly as I followed the old man into the back of the store. As he opened the door to the storeroom, I realized I had to bow my head so that I would be able to fit into the room. I hadn't known the ceiling was this low when I was younger.

"It's because you're always working!" he exclaimed, as he leaned towards a pile of boxes covered in labels with large characters. I could read each one clearly, but I could see the apothecary struggling to read the writing. My eyes surveyed the rest of the room as the old man mumbled different ingredients to himself, searching for my imported leaves. It had been a whimsical buy on my part, but I had read in a scroll (that I had obtained through less-than-legal mean) that the plants were used in medicine in the Village of Sand-whose medical practices had interested me at the time. Not only did they use hardly any plant life (except this particular plant) or other objects, like Konoha, but the majority of their remedies were based on jutsu and sand. At the time, I wondered how sand could be used in healing a wound, and continued to wonder, but after I heard what the genin, Gaara, could do, I didn't doubt the village's medical abilities.

"Teaching children takes a lot of time," I replied, covering a smile with my hand when I saw the old man finally find the box he was looking for. He hated when people helped him with such simple tasks, so I knew better than to point out the box. The old man huffed at my answer, but I caught the comment he said under his breath: 'don't tell me-I had to deal with you and two daughters…' "So, how is Yamanaka-san?" I asked, noting the quick change in the apothecary's expression. He loved his two girls with enough ferocity to make up for his late wife. I had seen his younger daughter, Ino's mother, at her graduation, but I hadn't seen the older one in years. The reason for that was his older child had left the village while Ino's mother and I were still in the academy and the apothecary hadn't heard from her since. I couldn't even remember what she looked like, except that her eyes were identical to her father's-soft brown and pupil-less. I did remember, though, that she had been accepted into the shinobi academy at a young age and graduated within a few years, much like Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi. She had become a chuunin early as well, but deserted the village before being promoted to jounin.

"Bara-chan's fine…that other one though," the old man sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Her mother must be rolling in her grave now. To think, such a sweet girl left the village for that snake Orochimaru…" My eyes widened at that comment. I had never known why his daughter had left the village; it was a forbidden topic for either Bara or myself to bring up while the old man was around. And to think, she left to join Orochimaru. I sighed, hoping the same thing wouldn't happen with anyone else. Orochimaru had already brought enough grief to our village, but I knew he had a vendetta against Konoha and he wouldn't stop until he died. _Probably not even after that…_I thought to myself as I bent down to begin lifting boxes off of the one I had decided to take. "Iruka-kun…I know it is a lot to ask…but, could you maybe find out if anyone's heard anything about Asagao…"

"I'll try," I replied, smiling at the old man. After years of not being heard from, it was most likely Asagao was dead-but there was always a chance she wasn't. As he turned to look at me, I could see, behind his thick glasses, the old man's eyes were teary. I knew enough medicine to see that the old man was slowly arriving to the point no medical nin could heal him. _He knows he's going to die soon…_I smiled sadly at this realization. As much as I was a brother and father to Naruto, this man and the Third were fathers to me. Ino's mother was like a sister to me and, if Asagao hadn't left when I was so young, I was sure I would have been close to her as well. Bara must have realized this as well, being the man's sole successor, which would explain the fact Ino had been here in the first place. I knew that Ino didn't hold her grandfather in the highest of regards-being that he was a mere civilian whose only contribution to society was making a few simple potions every now and then. Her mother must have forced Ino to spend some time around the old man before he died. At one time, I held the same beliefs as Ino, that shinobi were much greater than normal people, until I watched my parents die before my eyes. Ever since then, I treasured every life equally and knew that, shinobi or civilian, everyone could make a difference.

"You're a good boy, Iruka-kun…it's too bad Asagao didn't stay. I could have set you two up…" the old man said jokingly, his usual demeanor returning. I shook my head as I sighed. He was one of those people who only wanted to see me settle down with someone and have a few children to carry on the Umino name. Being the last of your clan was a burden no one deserved to carry.

"She's, what, at least eight years older than me!" I exclaimed in mock disgust. "Why would I want to date such an old woman!" The old man chuckled at that, his face erupting in even more wrinkles than usual. "And our children! They'd be short _and_ balding, just like their grandfather!"

"Oi, you live seventy-seven years, then tell me about balding!" he retorted good-naturedly as he bent to pick up a cane that he must have left in the storeroom earlier. He waved the thin stick at me as he glared through thick glass. "And short! I'll have you know I remember a time when I towered over you! And if my memory serves me right, that was only a few years ago!"

"Alright, alright, you win!" I raised my hands in defeat as I chuckled at the elderly man. He nodded his head at my actions, placing his cane's tip back on the floor. Mumbling under my breath, I added, "and they'd be demons!"

"I may be short and balding, you nitwit, but I'm not going deaf!" he snorted, gently hitting my shins with his cane, since he couldn't reach any higher. "And, look at Bara! She's just as tall as that blonde piece of driftwood she married and her daughter's almost as tall as you!"

"…driftwood?" I smiled at his name for the head of the Yamanaka clan. He never liked the man that much-but not because the man was a bad person, just that he had taken the old man's baby girl away. "Old man, I thought you were the one who let Yamanaka-san marry your daughter…"

"Just to make my baby happy…and it was about time I got some grandchildren!" he exclaimed, prodding my box with his cane. "Well, Iruka-kun…your hellish leaves await you…and, if you find a moment, go over to the hospital and tell them it's not an outbreak of some demonic poison ivy…they seem to think it's one of Orochimaru's newest plans to take over Konoha…to think a snake would attack with plants! Feh! Even I know he wouldn't stoop that low!"

"Alright, I'll stop by the hospital if you ever let me go!" I chuckled, bending down to pick up the box. Poor Ino hadn't been warned that even the box itself was covered in the leaves' venom-something I had found out on accident. It took me a few months to become immune to the poison, which made me smirk as I stood back up, the box tucked neatly under one arm as the old man grumbled about crazy children.

"Go, go! Before your friend becomes suspicious," he cried, shooing me away with his hands and cane. I slipped out of his reach as I chuckled, saying a quick goodbye before leaving the storeroom. As I stepped back into the shop, I picked up the bottle I had been looking at earlier and replaced it with a few bills-which was more than enough to buy the root and, probably, half of the ingredients in the store-which I might have to come back and do one of these days.

With a smile, I stepped out of the shop and glanced around the busy street. Kakashi was no where to be seen and neither were any other shinobi for that matter. _Good…_I thought to myself as I tucked the glass bottle into my vest and quickly performed a transportation jutsu. In the blink of the eye, I was standing in my living room, staring at the cutest picture I could have imagined. Kakashi obviously had finished his cleaning earlier than I had expected, considering the jounin was currently sprawled across my couch, his legs hanging off of one arm while the rest of his body was precariously balanced on the edge of the couch. One arm was flung to the side, fingers touching the floor, while the other was gently resting on a furry form of a small dog.

_Kakashi has a dog?_ I wondered to myself as I watched the pair sleep soundly on my couch. The dog's loud snores almost drowned out Kakashi's soft whistling, but I smiled at that piece of information. I had always assumed Kakashi either snored loudly or made no sound as he slept. As if he suddenly noticed my presence, the dog lifted up his head and looked at me through tired eyes.

"So, you're Iruka?" the dog asked gruffly, his voice surprised. His surprise was nothing compared to my amazement though. I was accustomed to nin dogs…but not ones that could talk. _So that makes him a summoning jutsu?_ I wondered as I nodded at the dog's question. "Nice to meet you. I'm Pakkun. Kakashi summoned me to help find your place…and as soon as we got here, the idiot falls asleep on your couch."

"Gomen…I didn't think my shopping would take so long…" I replied truthfully as I prayed that the dog couldn't smell what I had actually gotten-let alone know what they were used for. "How long have you been here?"

"Only about half an hour," Pakkun replied, shaking off Kakashi's hand before gracefully jumping off the couch to walk closer to me. He sniffled me for a moment, then looked at me curiously. "If you're going to use those leaves on Kakashi, warn me first…I don't want to be scratching too."

"…o…okay…" I replied, unable to hide my surprise at the dog's comment. And here I was, thinking dogs were loyal to their masters! "Umm…what would you like to eat?"

"…I'm not hungry…but his stomach's been growling so loudly, I could hardly sleep," Pakkun answered, his gaze traveling over to Kakashi before returning to me. "You're of the Umino clan, right?"

"Un…" I said as I walked into the kitchen and was careful to place the box down on a towel before opening it. Naruto wasn't the object of my wrath and, at the moment, neither was anyone else and I wasn't one to leave poison out on countertops where someone's bound to touch it. That and I didn't want to have to wipe down everything after moving the leaves into some other container. Pakkun watched me as I was careful to only use the arm that didn't touch the box to open a cabinet and grab a large glass jar.

"I thought they died out with the Kyuubi attacks…well, at least their jutsu did," Pakkun commented, watching me open the box and, using my 'infected arm,' pick up the five-pointed leaves one by one and place them safely into the jar. The dog obviously knew quite a bit about my family, which surprised me.

"I never was able to master the family jutsu…" I replied softly as I watched the last of the small leaves flutter into the jar. With a quick movement, I closed the jar and picked the box back up, along with the towel underneath it.

"I'm not as much of an idiot as Kakashi…you're not what you seem, Iruka-san," Pakkun stated as his eyes shifted from me to the box in my hands. "The only way to get rid of that poison is to burn it…" I nodded my head, remembering that I had figured that out after many other attempts to rid myself of the plant's itchy aftereffects. I had, thankfully, learned enough about healing jutsu before attempting to burn it out of my body. After, successfully, lighting my entire body on fire and getting the temperature high enough, I used an ice jutsu to freeze my entire body. That was my first mistake-going from one extreme to the other-and my second being miscalculating how much chakra I would need to successfully heal my body. For almost two weeks, I was in too much pain to even attempt healing myself and it had been a slow healing process. First came my chakra pathways, which had been nearly destroyed by my attempts, which allowed me to create a few doppelgangers, one of which had gone to the academy for me and another to work at the apothecary's shop while a third began bandaging my wounds as well as it could.

It amazed me that no one had realized that, besides for the first two weeks, I had been missing. Using the doppelgangers did deplete my chakra reserve, so I was only able to heal small parts of my body at a time. After a few months of self-healing, I was actually able to walk around enough to go back to the academy myself.

Pakkun, obviously curious with how I was able to handle the poisonous leaves, coughed. "How did you…?"

"Burning…I had accidentally gotten covered in it when I was younger…and burned it out of my body," I replied calmly, trying to forget how tight my skin always felt after that day. Even the smallest of fires made me remember those flames licking my entire body, destroying everything in their path. "But now I know how to make an antidote to it…but it won't make someone immune to it." The antidote was actually inspired by my continuous studies on the plant itself. I always wondered how people in the Village of Sand were able to use it without its side effects, which led me to discover that the plant wasn't poisonous in its earliest stages of growth or when mixed with certain chemicals.

"…you…burned your entire body?" Pakkun repeated, amazement in his grainy voice. I nodded my head as I held the box out and brought my other hand to my face, making a few quick seals. With a deep breath, I directed my exhale at the piece of wood. Pakkun made an 'eep' as I let out a thin stream of fire that wrapped around the box and, within seconds, nothing was left except a pile of blackened ash on my open palm. "That's…Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu?" I couldn't help but let my lips curve upwards proudly at the dog's amazed comment. "Iie…a variation of it…but how do you know an Uchiha clan's technique?"

"You said it yourself, I'm not what I seem," I replied softly, glancing down at my clothing-which would have to be burned now too. Either that, or soaked in the antidote I had created. I sighed, realizing it wouldn't be worth it to save my uniform-I had more than enough of them. "I'll start dinner after I take a shower and change."

"Iruka-san…Kakashi is very trusting of you…he doesn't give his trust to many people, so make sure not to betray him…" Pakkun stated, a hint of a threat in his voice. I raised an eyebrow at the small dog, wondering what had gotten into him.

"Kakashi-sensei is a friend…I wouldn't purposely hurt him, Pakkun," I replied, hoping that the dog would sense the truthfulness in my voice. I didn't know exactly what he thought I might do to Kakashi, but whatever ill feelings he had towards me disappeared as he nodded his head at me.

"Physically hurt that idiot all you want…and play as many pranks on him as you can. Kakashi needs to learn how to be more human…" Pakkun gruffly said as he began following me down the hallways to my room. "But just don't go too far…"

"You don't have to worry about me, Pakkun…whatever I do to Kakashi-sensei, he deserved it." The dog smiled at this, obviously agreeing with me, and took his leave with a puff of smoke. _Who would have thought Kakashi-sensei would pick dogs as his summoning creature…I would have thought crows would be more suitable to his nature…either that or a snail…_I smiled to myself at that thought and quickly closed my door, even though I knew Kakashi was still unconscious on my couch.

"Kakashi-sensei…you're surrounded by very good people," I thought aloud as I let out a chuckle. "People who really care about you…I just hope you realize that."

/\

(Kakashi's POV…finally…)

"Maa?" I mumbled to myself, bringing an arm up to my face and rubbed my visible eye. I hadn't felt tired enough to, literally, collapse in months. And the sleep I got was heavenly-except for that I could smell that flea-bitten dog of mine. _Pakkun?…he's not around…_I realized with a quick mental check around the room. No one was in the room, but I could feel a presence close by. Not even having to think about the defining chakra, I knew it was Iruka. I raised an eyebrow at that, wondering why Iruka was in his house and I was asleep. _Was I that tired…that I didn't realize Iruka came home?_ I wondered as I opened my eye to look up at a white ceiling.

Remaining perfectly still, I bit back a laugh as I closed my eye again. Within a few seconds, I had returned my chakra levels, breathing, and heartbeat to what they were while I slept. I had to literally bite my lip as I heard soft footsteps enter the room.

"Still sleeping…" Iruka mumbled so softly, I almost didn't catch his words. His footsteps grew louder as the chuunin came even closer to me-so close that I could smell the distinct scent of his soap. That, mixed with an aroma I could only call 'Iruka,' gave my nose a pleasurable moment. "You're going to fall off or get a cramp, baka." His voice was still so gentle, as if not to 'wake' me, but now, I could feel his warm breath on my masked face.

The chuunin sighed, the puff of warm air landing on my cheek and, before I got a chance to wonder what Iruka was planning, I felt something slide underneath my knees and back. I forced myself not to blush as I felt those warm arms slowly pick me up as if I was some kind of feather. And, as if I was just as delicate as that feather, Iruka shifted his arms around me so gently that I could hardly even feel being moved. The only way I knew that he actually moved me was that I now found my head resting against his warm chest. I was undeniably surprised to find that the prankster could be so gentle-and smirked underneath my mask as I got an idea. From the soothing motion of Iruka's body, I could tell he was walking.

Shifting my head, I found my nose buried into something warm-and definitely not a chuunin vest. _He's…shirtless!_ I almost ended my little charade by opening my eyes to stare, but the sound that came out of Iruka's mouth made me decide to continue my (perverse) little plan. He gasped softly and, even through my mask, I could feel his chest erupt in goose bumps. _Hehe_…I snickered inwardly, rubbing my face into his muscular chest again. This time, Iruka's gasp was more of a moan.

I actually opened my eye at this, having not expected such a reaction. Before me was the single most beautiful chest I had ever seen, but I reluctantly closed my eye before Iruka got the chance to see I was awake. I knew Iruka was furiously blushing, which I would have loved to see, but I had a plan that I had to see through. I raised an eyebrow when I felt a sudden change in the air, which meant we were in a different room of the house. _But why is Iruka's room so humid?_ I wondered, sure that that was where the chuunin had been carrying me.

I opened my eye in realization only an instant too late. I caught a glimpse of a smirking chuunin before landing into a tub of steaming water. He chuckled as I became completely submerged in hot water. I struggled to sit back up, but found the water was _heavy_. Furrowing my eyebrows, I tried again to get out of the water, but found that something was holding me down. I opened my eye and saw a tan hand on my chest. _Iruka…_I glared at the hand for a moment, then smiled, letting my entire body go slack as my chakra levels began decreasing. Even underwater, I could hear Iruka's voice, filled with concern, as the chuunin cursed. His other hand plunged into the water and wrapped around my chest. _Bingo…_ As those strong arms started to pull me out of the water, I quickly caught his wrists and pulled. I was rewarded with a scream and a sudden splash as I felt a new pressure on my chest.

I let the man sit on my chest for a moment, until I felt the urge to breathe, then quickly sat up, which sent Iruka flying backwards into the water. The now-submerged man was emitting a deadly-aura, which only got stronger as I saw him sit up, his untied locks sticking to his face and neck. I smirked, realizing how cute Iruka looked with his hair down-and wet. He glowered at me for a moment before sending a tidal wave of water at me.

I returned the gaze as soon as his 'attack' was over. Knowing how my hair got when wet, it had to be plastered to the sides of my face and neck as well as my hitai-ate. It wasn't at all attractive. Iruka, raising an eyebrow, stared at my usually gravity-defying hair and let out a snort. "Don't pretend to be asleep, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka stated, his voice filled with humor, as he slowly stood up. I couldn't stop myself from staring at the drenched man. Not only was he shirtless, but it had somehow escaped my attention until now that he was wearing nothing _but_ a pair of black shorts that now clung to every inch of his lower body.

Oh, how I wanted to be those shorts… I froze, realizing that my entire body was starting to itch.

/\

Authoress: okay…that wasn't how this chapter was supposed to end…but twelve pages is enough for right now…and my next chapter, I'll be sure to continue along the storyline (of the manga series…since the anime sucks…they make Iruka into such a wuss!) …that was supposed to be what happened this chapter…but I got an image of Kakashi soaking wet in a bathtub…and went along with it…

Kakashi: WHY AM I SO ITCHY?

Iruka: whoops…hehe

Kakashi: WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHOOPS'!

Authoress: heehee…until next chapter…and thanks to everyone for reviewing…and no Gai and Kakashi action (Your Mom's Face pleaded for no action between them…even though it would be hot in a eye-twitching-from-the-images kind of way…and there's NO lost love between Gai and Kakashi…Kakashi and Obito or Gai and Iruka (that's a whole 'nother story altogether!)…that's a different matter! SAYONARA, LOYAL REVIEWERS!


	4. Call Me By My Name

Authoress/grins/ okay, my wonderful readers…I am in such good mood…having just checked my reviews for our last chapter…and I have some comments I'd like to make public…

To **bamf2me**-thank you again for such a wonderful review…and I'm glad to see someone liked Pakkun's (short) part to the story and how loyal he was…and /hugs/ you are the reason I'm writing this chapter so soon after putting up chapter three!

To **blockofthewritingkind**-I totally agree with you, no one's perfect (no, not even Iruka), so you'll be glad to know Kakashi _will_ get the upper hand…eventually…

To **ATG** and **snow887**-I love a conniving Iruka…/huggles **snow887**/ I feel so appreciated now..

Now that that's done…on with the next chapter, dedicated to Fanfiction's very own **bamf2me**!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…don't you wish I did, though? Iruka would _sooo_ have more of a kick-ass character (and more screen time!)…and Kakashi…well…that mask would be one thing we'd never let him be seen with…and I don't own either…I'm just a Yaoi-loving fan with loads of time on her hands!

Chapter Four

(third person POV…hehe…)

Iruka couldn't hold back his chuckle as he carefully flipped the fish over, making sure that it was beginning to brown. His moment of mirth was caused by the outburst he had heard from the bathroom. Kakashi, obviously, hated being itchy-guessing from the string of curses and whines his ears had been subject to for nearly half an hour. Iruka, having calculated how long it would take before the burning pain would become unbearable for the jounin (two hours, considering Kakashi's tolerance for pain had to be high), knew Kakashi was just uncomfortable right now. But, with a half-sigh, half-laugh, Iruka turned down the heat on his oven and went to check on the Copy-cat Nin.

"Aaah!" Kakashi glared at his tingling arm, knowing it would only get worse if he itched, so he sat on the rim of the bathtub, praying that the unfamiliar sensation would go away soon. He was about to give up on his 'no itching' remedy when Iruka stepped into the room. The chuunin raised an eyebrow at the half-naked jounin, noticing that there weren't any scratch marks on his pale body. Iruka smiled, realizing that Kakashi had an amazing amount of willpower.

"Do you want something for that?" Iruka asked nonchalantly as he walked to his vanity, which held Kakashi's soaked clothing, and opened the medicine cabinet. The jounin wasn't able to help the glare he gave to Iruka's back as he watched the brunette sift through a mass of bottles, finally pulling one out. Kakashi adjusted his glare to the unusual white liquid in the glass container, unable to figure out what kind of medicine it was. As if reading Kakashi's mind, Iruka handed the bottle to Kakashi and explained, "it's a soap that'll get rid of the itching." Kakashi eyed the thick liquid as he shook the tiny bottle, slightly apprehensive to use something _Iruka _had given him. He was sure that the conniving chuunin had something to do with his sudden itching fit. "I didn't poison _soap_, Kakashi-sensei…"

Kakashi looked up at the smiling brunette and sighed, realizing Iruka was right. He wouldn't have done something as terrible as to play _more than one_ prank on Kakashi. Thinking about it, the jounin realized he didn't actually do anything to deserve one of the infamous teacher's tricks. Kakashi turned his head to lazily look at Iruka's shower and then to the chuunin. "…maa…"

"You can take a shower here, Kakashi-sensei…I'll find some clothes for you to wear while yours dry," Iruka stated calmly while inwardly doing an 'Inner Sakura YoshÔ.' He watched as Kakashi slowly stood up, which put the jounin only a hands length away from Iruka in the tiny bathroom. Iruka craned his neck to look up at the man and smiled. "Dinner will be ready by the time you're done…" As if on cue, Kakashi's stomach growled loudly and the jounin smiled sheepishly.

"A-arigatou, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi replied, bending slightly so he could look at the chuunin eye-to-eye. Kakashi's heart _thumped_ when he realized that he was so close to the brunette-close enough to see the specks of gold in the chuunin's soft eyes, close enough to smell that distinct clean smell that he had begun to associate with the academy teacher. Letting his gaze drop, Kakashi noticed that Iruka had changed out of his wet shorts into loose-fitting black pants and a tight black t-shirt. For some reason, the Copy-cat Nin's visible eye zeroed in on Iruka's midsection, where he caught a glimpse of bronze. Iruka, feeling slightly uncomfortable under the jounin's gaze, moved to leave. Kakashi watched Iruka walk out of the room, his eyebrow raising as he observed the chuunin's snug shirt slide up his body slightly as his paints slipped in the opposite direction.

Iruka, unaware at the fact Kakashi was catching glimpses of his exposed skin, flashed the jounin a pleasant smile before he slipped out of the bathroom and sighed as he closed the door. Unconsciously pulling his pants back up into their original position, Iruka softly chuckled and went back to fixing dinner.

Kakashi waited until he could no longer hear the faint padding of Iruka's bare feet then stared down at the tiny bottle in his gloved hand. All thoughts of itching his body left his mind as he furrowed his eyebrows. _Did…Iruka…just **flirt** with me? _Kakashi wondered to himself as he shook the bottle. That smile definitely wasn't a mere 'friendly' expression. Shaking his head, Kakashi smirked. It was impossible. Iruka was, if anything, a heterosexual--who was just cheerier than what Kakashi was used to and who had a wardrobe malfunction for a moment. _But why would he wear such a tight shirt…and pants that are nearly falling off…_Kakashi asked himself as he turned to grab one of the knobs in the shower, but his hand froze on the warm metal when he saw a red leaf resting on a shelf right above the metal handles. _That's…iie…it can't be…_Kakashi frowned, dismissing the thought. The leaf merely _looked_ similar to one that he had heard of-but it grew only in the Village of Sand…and it was highly toxic. Iruka wasn't that evil; to poison Kakashi in such a sneaky way. The jounin refrained from touching the leaf, just in case, as he turned on the hot water and slipped out of what remained of his soaking outfit. Folding his mask next to the rest of his clothes, Kakashi jumped into the shower and, with the speed of a shinobi during a mission, he smothered his body in the soap and washed it off.

Breaking his last record, forty seconds, by nearly ten seconds, Kakashi was out of the shower and staring at a pile of dry clothing where his wet outfit had been sitting only a moment before, along with two fluffy white towels. _How did he?_ Kakashi wondered as he looked at the clothing curiously. He hadn't heard the door open, hadn't felt a surge of chakra…nothing that would have told him the chuunin had slipped in the room during his thirty second shower. Kakashi was so impressed at Iruka's stealth, he didn't realize his body no longer itched until he was completely dried off and slipping on a pair of the smaller man's pants. Surprisingly, the navy blue pants actually fit Kakashi (which made the jounin wonder why Iruka had pants that were so tall), as did the tank top that, thankfully, wasn't as tight as Iruka's shirt. Kakashi, noticing that his mask had also been taken by the short chuunin, ran a hand through his hair as he wiped the bathroom's foggy mirror clean.

Kakashi's hand stopped in the middle of the arc he was creating, staring at his reflection. _That…sneaky bastard…_Kakashi thought to himself as he couldn't help but chuckle at the chuunin's creativity. Every inch of his hair, from his head to his eyelashes, was a neon pink. Kakashi turned his head to look at the prankster's handiwork, noticing that there was the barest hints of blue at the tips of his hair. Bending even closer to the mirror, Kakashi saw that even the stubble of his beard was dyed. Rubbing a callused hand along his jaw line, the jounin smiled at his reflection. He couldn't be mad at Iruka-even though he was now sure that the leaf he had seen was actually that poisonous plant from the Hidden Village of Sand. The chuunin had bested the great Copy-Cat Nin-without Kakashi even suspecting a thing until it was far too late.

"Kakashi-sensei…are you almost done?" Iruka's voice drifted through the door as the jounin bit his lip to stop himself from chuckling again. Kakashi could hear Iruka was losing his ability to control his own laughter as the jounin took a step towards the door.

"Iruka-sensei…that wasn't very nice!" Kakashi exclaimed, smiling at the faint traces of chakra he could feel on the other side of the door. He brought a hand up to his face again, wondering what he could use as a mask while his dried. Iruka's resolve broke when he heard Kakashi's whining, snickering as he leaned against the locked door.

"It wasn't very nice that you surprised me today, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka replied, resting his head against the door. The tan chuunin could tell Kakashi had his hand on the door in the same area his head was, which made him blush for some reason. _Do I…_like_ Kakashi-sensei?_ Iruka wondered to himself as he bit his lip.

Kakashi shook his head, refusing to let Iruka, or anyone else, see him with pink hair, as he brought his hands up to his face and made a few quick seals. Whispering "Henge," Kakashi smirked as he was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, having outwitted the devious chuunin. Once the smoke dispersed, Kakashi turned to look at his reflection and was amazed to see the jutsu did nothing. The henge no jutsu was supposed to change Kakashi's appearance back to normal-but the only change in Kakashi's looks was that the shade of pink was even _brighter_, if that was possible.

"I could have told you that wouldn't have worked," Iruka said through the door, having started chuckling to himself when he felt Kakashi's chakra rise before. _I thought I'd never use that jutsu again…_Iruka thought to himself. The last time he'd used it had been nearly seven years ago, when Genma had made the mistake of laughing at Iruka's scar. The poor man hadn't known what hit him until Raido had been kind enough to tell him his hair was a neon green. After a few hours of attempting different jutsu, Genma's hair was, literally, glow-in-the-dark and he still hadn't realized that using any jutsu made things worse. Iruka had let him walk around with that hair for two days before he was ordered by the Hokage to return the other shinobi's hair to a normal color. After that incident, Genma always thought twice about annoying Iruka.

"Nani!" Kakashi wove his fingers into his hair as he activated his Sharingan, which only made his mismatched eyes widen. He could see the blue chakra surrounding his body, as was normal, but he also noticed the faint traces of a foreign energy swirling around his head. _A jutsu…sugoi…Iruka's going to have to teach me it!_ Kakashi inwardly exclaimed, jumping at the chance to learn a new jutsu-especially one he'd never heard of before. Studying the unusual chakra, Kakashi finally began understanding how exactly the chuunin's prank worked.

The jutsu wasn't a difficult one, being a simple henge no jutsu-but with a twist. As more of Kakashi's chakra was placed into the area, the jutsu converted the blue chakra into, what Kakashi now recognized as, Iruka's, which strengthened the entire jutsu-which in turn enhanced the color of Kakashi's hair. It was something so simple that not even Naruto would have had a problem pulling it off, but that thought made Kakashi think for a moment. Always being on guard, Kakashi would have noticed if Iruka had placed a jutsu on him-especially one that Kakashi was unfamiliar with-but the chuunin had somehow snuck through Kakashi's, otherwise, impenetrable defense. _The soap…that sneaky little…_Kakashi glanced back into the shower and saw the empty bottle. _He placed the jutsu on the soap…which transferred to me…oh, he's good…_Kakashi thought with a smile. Iruka had everything planned out from the beginning-from Kakashi falling asleep on his couch up until now. The man was worse than Shikamaru with his planning!

"Kakashi-sensei…dinner's ready, whenever you're ready to come out," Iruka called as he pushed himself away from the door, covering up a smile on his face. The chuunin had already burned the jounin's poisoned clothes, which left Kakashi without a mask. Deciding he'd take pity on the once silver-haired shinobi, Iruka went back to his room and reemerged after a minute of searching with a black scarf and a spare hitai-ate. He was slightly surprised to see that, when he reached the bathroom that the door was open and Kakashi was no longer there.

Taking a quick survey of his home, Iruka found the lazy swirls of energy, also known as Kakashi, resting on his couch in the living room. With a smile, Iruka folded the scarf and placed it in a pocket of his baggy pants, then journeyed into the room that held the jounin and was taken aback to see Kakashi holding a picture frame, which covered the lower half of his face.

Kakashi looked at the picture and immediately recognized the two people in the picture. That blonde head of hair couldn't be mistaken for anyone else, even though, in the picture, Naruto had to be somewhere around three or four. The second person, the one holding a chubby Naruto on his lap, had gotten Kakashi to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. It was obvious who the smirking child was-but it was impossible that the scarred brunette in the photograph was the same as the man leaning against a doorframe as he watched Kakashi study the picture. _…he…looks like a little kid!_ Kakashi inwardly exclaimed as his eyes bounced from the picture, to the chuunin, then back again.

"That was taken the day I passed the Chuunin Exam…" Iruka stated, recognizing the picture frame immediately. With a smile, he inwardly added, _the day I took Naruto in as my own…_ "…It's been nine years since then…" Iruka continued when he saw the jounin's puzzled expression. Kakashi looked back down at the picture, but his amazement didn't decrease.

_He looks…like he's only twelve or thirteen!_ Kakashi studied the boy in a chuunin vest, inwardly figuring that, if his estimation of Iruka's age was right, that would make the chuunin around twenty-one or twenty-two…far from what he looked. "…how old…" Kakashi said questioningly, wondering if Iruka just _looked_ young in the picture.

"…Eleven," Iruka replied, smiling when he saw Kakashi's grip on the wooden frame slip. Before his lower face was exposed, though, Kakashi regained his composure and moved the picture frame back up to hide his face.

_THAT MAKES IRUKA…TWENTY!_ Kakashi was beyond dumbfounded at that point. He stared at the smiling chuunin, for the first time noticing how _young_ Iruka actually looked when he wasn't scowling, yelling, or something to that effect. When he smiled like this…twenty years was a believable age. It still didn't help; knowing Iruka's actual age. That meant that the chuunin was still, in Kakashi's mind, a child-even though he himself was already a jounin at Naruto's current age. Kakashi, even with his vast imagination, couldn't see Iruka ever jumping to jounin while he was still (in Kakashi's mind) so young-even considering how skilled the brunette obviously was.

"Daijoubuka, Kakashi-sensei?" Iruka asked, noticing the troubled look in the jounin's eyes. Kakashi glanced up at him, still keeping his face halfway hidden, and his eye curved upwards. Taking that as a 'daijoubu,' Iruka returned the smile and took a step towards Kakashi. Making a quick decision, Kakashi turned his face away and put the picture back down on the coffee table. Iruka watched the neon-pink head of hair turn back and was surprised to see Kakashi_ smiling. _Not just his eyes-but the jounin's whole face. And it was far more perfect than Iruka had imagined.

Kakashi's eyes caught Iruka's and he found himself staring at the young man, unable to do anything else except study Iruka's face as the chuunin did the same. The pair were so stunned, Iruka didn't realize he had let go of the jutsu on Kakashi's hair and the jounin didn't even notice the hair shading his Sharingan had finally returned to a silver color.

Iruka's eyes traced over the familiar features of Kakashi, as though, if he looked at the rest of the man's face, he'd wake up from whatever dream he was finding himself in. After a moment, Iruka worked up enough courage to let his eyes flit across the smooth jaw line that was covered in short, fine silver hairs, so subtle that Iruka wouldn't have been able to see them if he hadn't already known of their existence. Iruka then allowed his eyes to travel to those lips that seemed to be in a everlasting smile. Beautiful pink lips framed white teeth that were almost too perfect. On either side of those lips sat the indentations Iruka had been surprised to discover when he first 'saw' Kakashi's face. The fact Kakashi had a slender face, with prominent cheekbones, accentuated his dimples even more, along with the almost unnoticeable depression in the center of his chin. Oh, and what a masterpiece of a chin that was.

"Maa, Iruka…sensei, I'm hungry!" Kakashi exclaimed, faltering over the honorific. It now sounded odd to call someone thirteen years his junior 'sensei.' He couldn't help himself from chuckling when he saw Iruka's astonishment. Then again, it wasn't every day the great Hatake Kakashi showed his face voluntarily. For a moment, Kakashi wondered _why_ he had actually let Iruka see his face when he hadn't even let those he had known for years see it. Kurenai, Asuma, Anko, Ibiki, Gai; none of them had ever seen Kakashi's face in its entirety.

Kakashi then realized, to his own amazement, that he _trusted_ Iruka more so than the others. This _boy,_ who had actually pulled two tricks on him today (ruthless pranks!), was more trustworthy, to Kakashi, than his own jounin 'friends.' In that moment, Kakashi understood that it wasn't just _trust_ that he had in the chuunin. It was something more, something Kakashi couldn't put into words or even understand, except that he _wanted_ Iruka to see him, as the whole man he was.

"You're always hungry," Iruka retorted good-naturedly as soon as the shock of seeing a sex-god standing in his own living room started to wear off. The chuunin smiled, hoping the blush he knew was staining his cheeks wasn't too noticeable, and started walking towards his kitchen. He forced himself not to turn around and stare at the jounin for a second time when he heard Kakashi slowly get up from the couch and follow him to the table. The jounin sniffed the air and found every delicious aroma that he could name to his liking, which got his stomach to grumble loudly.

"Not always!" Kakashi replied as he sat down in front of an empty plate and found himself gazing at the serving platters. He nearly drooled when he saw the fish-how did Iruka know he loved broiled saury! He also looked at the rest of the food lovingly as his hunger started to get the better of him. Sneaking a hand out to grab the fish, Kakashi was surprised to discover Iruka had just as quick hands as the chuunin slapped his fingers away. Whimpering, Kakashi waited impatiently until the chuunin had served both of them and had sat down across the table from Kakashi, then dug into the food, discovering that Iruka's cooking was just as good, if not better, than it smelled and looked.

_Kami-sama…he's perfect!_ Kakashi realized as he and Iruka ate in a comfortable atmosphere, something Kakashi hadn't done in a long time-since Obito died. Once Kakashi was finished stuffing himself silly-to the point that he felt like he was going to burst-they started up conversation again.

"Maa…when did you become a teacher, Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi asked curiously, watching as the chuunin started to pick up the dishes. Kakashi quickly picked the dishes out of the brunette's hands and carried all the dishes over to the sink where he began washing them, much to Iruka's amazement (and amusement).

"…when I was twelve…" Iruka answered as he watched the prettiest man in Konohagure do the one job that, whenever someone else had come to dinner (in other words, Naruto), Iruka found himself doing. It was a nice change of pace. Kakashi knew he should have been surprised with Iruka's answer, but found that he had been expecting it.

"Isn't there an age requirement to become a teacher, Iruka-sensei?" Kakashi turned away from the warm water that was filling up the sink to look at the smiling chuunin. He nodded his head at Kakashi's question, which made the jounin raise an eyebrow.

"There's supposed to be an age requirement to the jounin level too, Kakashi-sensei…I believe it's sixteen in our village," Iruka pointed out, noticing how Kakashi was quick to chuckle at that. The man was a great deal…easier to talk to without his mask on. The requirement for teaching in the academy was supposed to be fifteen-or five years as a chuunin, whichever came first. It had been set down by the first Hokage and wasn't challenged until Iruka came along. No one before the ambitious brunette had _wanted_ to become an academy teacher at such a young age. Hell, most of the teachers there had actually been tricked or forced into their positions! Iruka was the only one who loved teaching the children-even if it meant ducking stray shuriken or kunai every other minute.

"I guess you're right," Kakashi said thoughtfully as he started scrubbing the dishes with a navy blue sponge he had found sitting in a dish next to the sink. Sometimes, Iruka was a little too predictable…and a little too anal. Kakashi had to smile at the young man's odd quirks. They weren't annoying, but…endearing in Kakashi's mind. The lazy jounin, who usually never did anything more than what was an absolute necessity, thought the foreign idea of doing things ahead of time and keeping needed things…near were they were used was just too much work. But, for Iruka, he couldn't see the chuunin living any other way.

"What about you, Kakashi-sensei?" Iruka asked, leaning back against the wooden table as he watched Kakashi work. The chuunin nearly slid off of his perch when he heard the silver-haired man start _humming. _Oblivious to what he was doing, Kakashi continued scrubbing until he was sure Iruka would be happy with how clean the dishes were. Iruka simply watched and listened to the jounin, surprised to know that Kakashi actually did have an ear for music. Unlike other shinobi who Iruka had heard hum, whistle, or sing (mainly Naruto and Ebisu…no one else would be caught dead humming to themselves), Kakashi was on key…and his deep voice had a pleasant ring to it. Iruka couldn't place the tune, but it was achingly familiar for some reason. After a few minutes of listening to Kakashi and the clinking of dishes as the man went about his self-imposed job, Iruka softly started humming the tune to himself, only stopping when he realized that he was the only one singing.

Iruka looked over at Kakashi and found the jounin watching him with an eyebrow raised. The pair looked at each other, their lips twitching upwards as they studied each other. The silver-haired shinobi watched Iruka blush furiously as he dropped his eyes to the floor, which got him to snicker. "Maa, Iruka-sensei…you have a nice voice…" That, instead of making Iruka blush less, made the man's face turn even redder. Kakashi turned back to his work, smiling to himself, and began drying his immaculate dishes.

"…a-arigatou, Kakashi-sensei," Iruka replied, still blushing over the jounin's compliment. People like Kakashi wouldn't say a word of praise unless they meant it, which made Iruka's flushed look remain intact as he moved away from the table and started putting the clean dishes away. He smiled when he remembered something. "You didn't answer my question, Kakashi-sensei."

"Maa? What question?" Kakashi asked, glancing over at Iruka's back as the young man turned to put one of the dishes away in a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. Iruka gave a look to Kakashi, which told the jounin that the brunette knew he remembered. "I'm not a teacher…I just have a genin team…" _And I'm not even a good teacher!_ Kakashi exclaimed, remembering all the times he had gotten the 'you're late!' shriek from Naruto and Sakura.

"…why did you take a genin team?" Iruka questioned, rephrasing his question to get Kakashi to answer _something_ about himself. As much as he knew about the jounin, the lanky shinobi knew at least four times more about Iruka.

"The Sandaime forced me to take them," Kakashi replied, turning to Iruka. The third Hokage had told Kakashi that it would be good for him to have a genin team of his own-the old man probably thought that it would make Kakashi less lazy and more organized. He was wrong. "…I'm…glad he did, though."

Iruka smiled at that quiet comment out of Kakashi. He knew the three genin adored Kakashi-even though the three would deny it even under torture. Especially Sasuke. That boy, he looked up to Kakashi as, or what Iruka had perceived as, a father. Sasuke had opened up more to that man that anyone else except for, maybe, Naruto. "You're a great teacher, Kakashi-sensei."

"Maa…I feel so _old_ when you call me that!" Kakashi stated truthfully. 'Sensei' was never a term he thought would describe himself-or Iruka for that matter. "Just call me Kakashi."

"Kakashi-san…" Iruka repeated, noticing the pout he got from using an honorific, but he was a very polite person. That, and he always said 'san,' 'sensei,' or 'sama' when speaking to someone who wasn't a student. It was a hard habit to break.

"Iruka!" Kakashi whined, trying to give Iruka the puppy-look, Kakashi style. He didn't deliberately leave off 'sensei' from Iruka's name, but as he thought about it, he liked just saying 'Iruka.' The chuunin didn't miss Kakashi's lack of an honorific, though, and blushed slightly when he realized he preferred that Kakashi call him with such familiarity. "That's even worse!"

"Well, I'm not going to call you Kakashi-kun," Iruka pointed out jokingly. The mere thought of it made Kakashi smile as he bit back a chuckle. 'Kun' was going a little too far, even in Kakashi's mind. "…so, Kakashi-sen-…san…may I ask a question?" Iruka asked, clasping his hands behind his back. Kakashi nodded his head as he studied the chuunin's fidgeting. "What's with the mask?"

"You think I want a fan club?" Kakashi replied without hesitation, which got Iruka to blink in surprise before he snickered at Kakashi's statement. The chuunin couldn't stop himself from imagining a Kakashi fan club. It would be primarily be made up of jounin, obviously, but there would also be some of the older chuunin as well. And, considering their expanses of skills and abilities, Kakashi would have to always sleep with one eye open and he would probably get nothing accomplished since he'd have a horde of shinobi following him all the time. "Maa, what are you laughing about, Iruka?"

"…you having a fan club," Iruka said as he leaned back against the counter behind him and bit back another snicker. Kakashi watched as Iruka tried to control his laughter, but eventually lost the battle as the chuunin thought of a particularly interesting prank he could play on Kakashi the next time he felt the urge.

"You have a fan club!" Kakashi pointed out, wondering why the young man was laughing so much all of a sudden. What Kakashi had said was true, which made Iruka try to pout between his hysterical fits. The jounin watched the odd display of emotion for a moment until the chuunin had slid to the floor, clutching his stomach.

"Iie…they're…stalkers!" Iruka exclaimed between panted breaths and winces as his stomach began to ache. He wasn't used to laughing so much in such a short period of time. Not even Naruto had this unusual effect on him.

"That's not nice, Iruka. Kurenai wouldn't want you calling her a stalker," Kakashi pointed out as he watched Iruka curl into a small ball on his kitchen floor, still laughing about something that Kakashi couldn't comprehend. For a moment, Kakashi wondered if Iruka was laughing at what he had said about Kurenai, who just so happened to be one of the leaders of the jounin branch of Iruka's growing fan base. Kakashi had originally discovered the group after he started to get to know Iruka and had made the mistake of mentioning the teacher's name while amidst the rest of the jounin he knew. Kurenai had, literally flipped, along with Anko, Ibiki, Raido, and even Genma. The group had forced Kakashi to tell them what he did with Iruka, obviously amazed. Although Kakashi hadn't known the reason for their astonishment at the time, he now realized that they were simply stunned that Iruka hadn't done something terrible to him while he was in the chuunin's pleasant company. He chuckled, remembering the nickname Iruka's followers had called him by as they (using Ibiki's torture techniques) made Kakashi talk. "'Ruru-chan…"

Iruka snorted as he looked up at Kakashi and nearly lost the little control he had regained over himself. The jounin was smiling for all he was worth, showing off a row of perfect teeth and lips that begged to be kissed. Iruka thought about that description of Kakashi's lips for a moment and found himself wondering if he had taken up reading the Icha Icha series in his sleep.

"Don't call me that!" Iruka cried as he pulled himself into a sitting position and did his best to give Kakashi a glare. The jounin simply knelt down so that he was at eye level with Iruka and chuckled. Forcing himself to stop his hands from touching that perfectly sculpted face as his body screamed for him to kiss the chuunin, Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek.

"I'll stop if you call me 'Kakashi,' Ruru-chan," Kakashi stated, his eyes glinting with a predatory glint. Iruka watched him for a moment, then sighed as he nodded his head. "So, Iruka…what should we do?" Kakashi received his answer as he watched the chuunin try to cover up a yawn. Another small idiosyncrasy of Iruka's, Kakashi had discovered in the past few months of getting to know the chuunin, was that Iruka had a bedtime that Iruka always fell asleep at, unless the chuunin was hard at work doing some teacher-related things. On those occasions, Iruka fell into a deep sleep as soon as he finished the last paper and moved the papers where they wouldn't be damaged. More than once, Kakashi found himself stopping at Iruka's during the night only to find the brunette curled up on his couch or in one of his kitchen chairs, sleeping peacefully. Being the pervert he was, Kakashi had always imagined what he could do to Iruka while the chuunin was so defenseless, but ignored such ideas as he lifted the smaller man into his arms and relocated Iruka in his own bed.

Looking at Iruka as the chuunin stifled another yawn, Kakashi smiled and all of his old urges to do such unmentionable acts with Iruka while the man slept flew out of his mind. Iruka was too cute to even consider those kinds of things, especially now that Iruka was half asleep as he sat on his kitchen floor. With a chuckle, Kakashi pulled the halfway unconscious chuunin into his arms and stood up. Iruka let out a soft huff as he squirmed in Kakashi's arms, which resulted in Iruka moving even closer to the jounin's chest. Sighing quietly, Iruka nuzzled his face into Kakashi's warm chest as the jounin watched in amusement. Assuring himself that Iruka's actions were made due to his exhausted condition, Kakashi quickly put Iruka to bed and, even long after he had pulled the covers down and removed all the pillows from the bed, Kakashi found himself unable to stop watching the chuunin sleep. _What's…this feeling?_ Kakashi wondered as he tried to ignore the fluttering feeling mixed with a sense of warmth and security as he observed the young man sleep.

Needless to say, it was hours before Kakashi himself was able to fall asleep.

/\

Authoress: okay, I know, I know…this chapter was short…but it was just so cute…and tempting to end the chapter like this…oh, and to all of my oh-so wonderful reviewers…this is just the beginning of their relationship…and I assure you, there will be a few twists and moments in there where we all want to smack the two shinobi…

Iruka:zzzzzz

Kakashi:…itching plants?

Authoress: well, I would have put itching powder…but then, how would you have discovered what Iruka had done?…/gently hits Kakashi upside the head/ sooo…anyways…thank you all for reading and (hopefully) reviewing…until next chapter…sayonara!


	5. Sensei

Authoress: okay…I'm back again with chapter five…and I'm soooo ecstatic! I loved everyone's reviews for chapter four (hehehe…).…oh, and for anyone who's heard of this game…MAPLE STORY IS TERRIBLE!…I can't do it…I died twice (in half an hour) in attempts to beat fungi and snails…my sister made me try it…(Beta-kun: You died twice in half an hour? That's just sad. xDD)

Kakashi: maa?

Authoress: shaddup you!…now, anyways…I have an announcement for everyone who is a wonderful person /smiles/…(I'll make this bold so people notice…) **I'm looking for someone to beta my story…**(and not just Beta-chan…I need multiple beta people here) whether it be just this one or all my incomplete stories…the only thing I ask for is that, when you review, you tell me if you're interested…my only requirements are that you are a member of fan (or fiction press-or some similar site)…and that you have at least one story that I can read…to see your writing (why you need to be on FFN…etc…) and that you would have time to read my stories, as well as my absurdly long e-mails (some reviewers may know what I'm talking about from my replies to their reviews…) in case I want to bounce new ideas off you! My other, small, request is that you are not at all against reading, writing, or critiquing lemons…ya hear me!…yep…I just warned everyone that there'd be lemons in this story…/smiles sheepishly/ Like you couldn't tell if you've read other stories of mine…hehe…I'm so bad…they're going to kick me off one day…

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…I would be one happy fan if I did…do you _know_ what I'd be able to do then…/sighs/ yep…all Yaoi-fans' fantasies would come true…

Chapter Five

Iruka sighed, wiggling his nose in attempts to stop the sudden itch. Looking down at his bandaged hands, the chuunin couldn't help but glare. Today Gai had used some of his 'youthful spirit' speech on Iruka until the man finally gave in and overworked himself until collapsing. After Gai flipped out for a few minutes, he had taken Iruka to the hospital, where they told Iruka he was just suffering from chakra depletion. He tuned the annoyingly sweet woman out as she went on about how to prevent another collapse-he was a shinobi, he knew how to take care of himself!

With an inward chuckle, Iruka started doubting that idea. He had gone beyond his limits and, instead of increasing his boundaries, he made things worse. The nurse only a few feet in front of him had said a few minutes ago that he wouldn't be able to do any heavy work-in other words, training-for a few weeks. What the ditz in the smallest outfit Iruka had ever seen someone wear in public didn't realize was that he, in fact, could do worse than training. He taught. Those pre-genins were more dangerous than any amount of Gai's training and very few people appreciated that fact.

_Well…besides Kakashi…_Iruka thought to himself with a barely contained smile. Ever since the 'Dyeing Incident,' Kakashi had been hanging around Iruka more often and the chuunin wouldn't lie and say he was complaining. It was refreshing to have someone whose wits challenged him on more than one level be close by. Iruka had found himself, more than once, just wondering what Kakashi would think about something he had overheard that day and the jounin would appear outside his living room window with that smirk shining through his features.

Having never been the jumpy type, Iruka usually ignored the obvious presence for a few minutes before letting his friend in. Kakashi had yet to realize that it actually didn't take Iruka that long to notice him. Iruka's eyes scanned the white hospital room as the nurse's words became simply sound to his ears. He hated hospitals, being admitted to be more precise. Even when growing up, Iruka had his mother bandage his wounds instead of having some doctor check him. He knew it was because of that stubbornness that he had such a noticeable scar across his nose. If he had allowed his parents to take him to the hospital, the mark would have been much smaller, if not nonexistent.

Iruka tightened one of his bandaged hands into a fist and felt a smile tug at his lips. He could feel how his skin was pulling unusually; the sharp jolts of pain that ran up his forearm each time he shifted his hand. He had actually finished the five hundred laps around the city on his hands and still had enough energy to start sparring with Gai until he felt his body start catching up with him. One minute, he was dodging a kunai and the next, he was looking up at _that _cheery face. He didn't know what it was about the woman that was annoying him so much, except that she was _too_ happy. He chuckled at the irony of that. People usually said he was too cheerful. _Naruto and I have a great deal in common_, he thought to himself, remembering all the times the blonde's mask cracked and Iruka was left to try fixing the broken genin. He didn't mind it at all. Seeing Naruto cry, curse, even try to attack him, were proof that the boy was…normal. No one could be happy like that all the time.

"Umino-san…" The woman's uppity voice made Iruka's eyes jump back to her and study her face for signs of what she had been talking about. From the creases in her forehead, he guessed that she had still been ranting on how he shouldn't push himself so far. Obviously this woman had Gai to deal with more than once from the way the tall man was looking out the window nervously and how the woman was giving Iruka a stern 'don't even try to go against my orders' look. It was quickly replaced by that smile that Iruka was sure would haunt his mind for weeks.

Iruka returned the pleasant smile as he tightened his fist and felt the warmth of blood begin to trickle out of his scratched hands. The woman didn't notice this as she stood back up, finally making it possible for Iruka to look at her without seeing a bottomless pit of cleavage, and looked down at a board in her hands and wrote something down.

"Alright, I'll let you go tonight, Umino-san…but I want you to make sure you get a good night's sleep after eating something…and don't overwork yourself," she added as she started to walk out the room, but stopped in the doorway to glance back and smile at Iruka. With that, she left and the chuunin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Even youth has its limits!" Gai cried as soon as the clicking of the woman's heels could no longer be heard. Iruka chuckled at the man's enthusiasm, as well as his genuine remorse, knowing this was as close to an apology as Gai would ever get. The man was a slave driver, but no one was going to tell him that, upon fear he might make another bet with himself.

"Don't worry, Gai-sensei. I'll be fine by tomorrow," Iruka stated as he slowly stood up from the hospital bed. The mattress creaked slightly as he stood, which covered up the soft gasp the teacher uttered as he wobbled on his legs for a moment. Iruka had somehow forgotten that his legs had been the first muscle group Gai had had him work on today. Ignoring the fact his legs felt like warm jell-o, Iruka waved to the spandex-clad man and disappeared in a puff of smoke. As Iruka closed his eyes as the cloud drifted into his face, he smiled as he heard Gai's exclamation. For some reason, a person's hearing was the last thing that was transported in the jutsu, so they usually heard what was happening in their previous location for a few seconds after they relocated themselves. It was confusing to people new at transporting, but Iruka simply brushed it off as he looked up and smiled at the inviting couch-upon which sprawled a lazy jounin.

"…you're late!" Kakashi snickered, glad he had finally been able to use his students' favorite comment on someone else, especially the punctual chuunin. He froze in mid-laugh when he saw the chuunin tremble slightly. He was about to move off the couch to support the young man, but stopped his movements when he saw Iruka hold up a hand. It was bandaged and Kakashi could see the barest hints of red beginning to seep though. The sight of Iruka's blood-however slight-alone was enough to halt Kakashi's actions. The jounin watched as Iruka bent over slightly and grasped an edge of the coffee table, his breathing labored.

"Daijoubu, Kakashi…" Iruka said, thankful that Kakashi had gotten to know him well enough to know Iruka was stubborn-but not stupid. If he needed the jounin's help, he would ask for it-but not beforehand. The chuunin slowly sat down on the coffee table, closing his eyes for a moment in an attempts to make the sudden surge of pain in his head to dissipate, but it did little good. Iruka smiled to himself, knowing that he would have a spitting headache in the morning due to that little effort. It was a small comfort to the teacher that, once he got Kakashi out of the house, he could replenish his chakra rather quickly with a little meditation.

"…what did Gai do to you?" Kakashi wondered as he sat up on the couch and patiently waited for the man to open his eyes. When he did, the jounin could clearly see pain reflected in those chocolate orbs. It wasn't an emotional pain, thankfully. Kakashi wouldn't have known what the hell to do if it had been. Instead, he clearly saw that Iruka was suffering from a headache and sighed, knowing that it was something he could deal with. That realization brought up the question as to the reason for Iruka's sudden wooziness and headache. He didn't even need to lift the hitai-ate off of his Sharingan in order to see that Iruka was exhausted-both physically and in his chakra. Kakashi felt a surge of anger overtake him when he deduced what exactly was wrong with the teacher. _Chakra depletion…? _He had the odd urge to smack the man for being so careless, but before the thought even took a tangible form, Kakashi mentally berated himself for even considering hitting Iruka.

The chuunin was someone who knew his own limits, Kakashi had already realized this a while ago, but sometimes, Iruka forgot his own limitations in his attempts to do everything. Kakashi had never brought it up before with Iruka, but he always knew that the chuunin did too much. Teaching pre-genin at the academy was more than enough work, but Iruka also worked in the Missions Office _and_ had just started up training again (with _Gai_ for that matter!). Kakashi, if he hadn't come to check on Iruka most nights, would have wondered if the chuunin ever slept.

"We just did some training today…but I pushed myself a little too far…" Iruka said softly as soon as he felt his body was up to any type of movement. He lifted his head up from where it had come to rest perpendicular to his chest and opened his eyes slowly, almost surprising himself when he saw Kakashi's face so close to his own. The jounin was leaning over in his seat on the couch and was checking over Iruka's entire body for any sign that the chuunin was badly injured. He knew what could happen to a wound if someone was suffering a loss of chakra-having gone through it himself on more than one mission-and inwardly sighed in relief when he saw that the only injuries Iruka had were those on his hands. They looked like they were bandaged professionally, so that meant that Iruka had been looked at by someone with medical experience. With a raised eyebrow, Kakashi remembered that Iruka was such a person. Iruka could tell from the inquisitive looks Kakashi gave his hands that the jounin was wondering about his bleeding palms. "I went to the hospital already. They said I could come home…" Kakashi relaxed slightly upon hearing this. A doctor thought Iruka was fit enough to leave the hospital, which meant that, besides the obvious headache and dizziness, Iruka was fine.

"But not to use a transportation jutsu," Kakashi pointed out, the usual bored tone in his voice. The jutsu used chakra, more than most people realized, but Iruka had to have known how much chakra he just wasted when he could have walked home. While it would have taken longer, it would have used far less energy and Iruka wouldn't still be reeling from the aftereffects of draining his chakra to the point he could pass out at any moment.

"You would have preferred Gai carry me home?" Iruka snorted as he slowly got back up, sure that this time, he would feel more secure on his own feet. He discovered he was right as he took a few steps forwards and found himself drifting into his small kitchen. "Do you want tea, Kakashi?" Iruka asked, not needing to turn his head in order to know Kakashi already had his nose buried in one of those perverted books. It was apparent from the snicker he heard from the jounin right before he turned on the burner underneath the kettle. Iruka turned around and quickly made an inventory of what was in the kitchen, sighing when he realized that grocery shopping was going to be on his list of chores for tomorrow. Shuffling over to the cabinet that contained the teas, Iruka mused over the jounin on his couch.

He had known Kakashi for only a few months now and they hadn't really been on friendly terms until the chuunin exams were over and Iruka found himself with the lazy jounin as a guest most nights. He liked Kakashi's company, but half the time, Kakashi just sat there and read or he watched Iruka do whatever it was that he was doing at that moment. If it had been anyone else, Iruka would probably have felt nervous around such scrutiny, but he knew Kakashi was as harmless to him as a kitten. It was almost hard for Iruka to remember that the man currently sitting on his couch reading a porn novel-the man who hated pink, fan clubs, itching, and baths-was the same infamous Copy-Cat Nin who was rumored to be capable of invoking the worst horrors.

With a hidden smile, Iruka remembered the first time he had heard of the jounin's most revered ability-the Sharingan. He had been just a child at the time, but ever since that moment, Iruka had always imagined meeting the man who had even made Iruka's parents uneasy.

/A/N: flashback…eeee! Iruka as a cute kid!…okay…I'll just type now…and I won't italicize this (like I usually do with memories…)…so, just warning all of you!

"Tou-san!" the small brunette squealed as he collided with his father's leg. The man raised an eyebrow, which his son couldn't see, as he continued to stare ahead at the tranquil river's surface. It had been a few hours since he had come out of their home to watch the water's ripples, as if searching for something. The boy, smiling when he felt his father rest his hand on the top of his chestnut hair, buried his head into the man's leg and giggled. It wasn't often his father would let Iruka latch onto him like this, let alone pat him on the head.

"I heard from your teachers at the academy today," the tall man said quietly, causing his son to pull his face away from his thigh and look into his father's shadowed face. The man's voice didn't betray anything, but the way his hand had quickly lifted off his son's head, the tiny boy could tell something was wrong. With a sheepish grin, he remembered exactly why he had been sent home early.

"Tou-san…it was only a _small_ wate-" A simple look from the stern man got him to stop in the middle of his pathetic attempt at a logical explanation. He lowered his head when he saw those dark blue eyes pull away from the water's surface and land on him. Every fiber of the boy shook as he tried his hardest to wish he could disappear like all the shinobi could. But, because of his Pacifist mother, he had been enrolled into a private school for the bureaucrats' children-where he learned laws and other boring topics that would one day help him when he (according to the plan his parents had lain out at his birth) became a political leader. The brunette realized within moments that, sometimes, it was an unlucky thing to have an ANBU member for a father-they were scary people when they wanted to be.

"You are not a shinobi, Iruka…and you _will not_ be one. I shouldn't have taught you any jutsu…that is my mistake…but you have to realize that, to civilians, you just proved yourself to be capable of murdering them. You've lost the trust of many people…and can never gain it back," the man said with a sigh. Iruka bit his lower lip. He had this conversation with the man more than once-he knew that most people were afraid of the abilities of shinobi and the mere idea of someone without those years of training with an ability like his own scared them. Taking a deep breath, Iruka felt an arising stubbornness take over him. He stepped away from the man and frowned.

"I'm going to be a jounin one day, Tou-san!" he declared as he folded his arms across his chest, remembering that his father always stopped arguing when his mother made that particular motion. Apparently his movement didn't have the same effect on his father. The man simply turned to look at Iruka and brought a hand up to his long hair to tuck one of the black strands behind his ear. Those deep eyes pierced through the boy and made him shake involuntarily. Iruka bit his lip, knowing that if he backed down now, he wouldn't get another chance to argue about this. The man was like a horse-or some other beast-he could smell fear from a mile away and, in Iruka's mind, got a sick pleasure out of knowing he was the cause of his son's trembling.

The older male took a deep breath and, against his paternal instincts, glared at his son. "Perhaps I should let one of the ANBU members _show_ you what your mother and I have been trying to protect you from…" he commented, unable to stop himself from smirking when he saw the boy's face light up. Iruka was just like he was at that age-curious about anything and everything having to do with shinobi. He knew exactly what was going through his son's mind-how something like that was possible. "Maybe one day you'll meet Kakashi-he has an implanted Sharingan…"

Iruka's mouth opened at the mention of the Sharingan. He had read one of his father's scrolls-which the man hadn't known about at the time, but no doubt realized exactly what Iruka had done from the understanding in the boy's brown eyes at his comment. Iruka had understood enough of the scroll to know that the Sharingan gave its owner the ability to use amazing genjutsu-ones that could do serious damage, but the eyes were also capable of defense. Iruka had read in the scroll that only one family-the Uchiha clan-carried the Sharingan, but his father said that this man had one implanted. That made Iruka smile as he considered the possibilities that he, one day, might be able to be as powerful as the Sharingan-user.

"I _will_ become a shinobi, Tou-san!" Iruka stated, keeping his voice as firm as a child his age could. The man let out a breath at that and shook his head in amusement. He had been as adamant in his choice of profession-but he was much older when he finally made his decision. The man squatted down so he could look at his son in the eyes. "I will!" Iruka repeated, but his voice was less sure as he started to pout. His father's actions had made him uneasy. The man seemed as though he was yielding to his son's demands.

"I'll teach you a jutsu that _only_ our family can use…" Iruka's eyes lit up at his father's statement. The man hadn't taught him any jutsu except the one that had gotten him into trouble at school-and that was just a simple water jutsu. Something that only the Umino family could use, the idea itself made Iruka bounce slightly as he studied his father's hands as they slowly moved through a long string of seals. Having always been good at memorizing, Iruka had been able to imprint all of the hundred or so movements as his father created them. Iruka gasped as he saw his father's mouth move, but no sound came out. He could pick up the words, though: _Kuchiyose no Jutsu._

Iruka was so amazed at those words, he didn't catch the rest of his father's silent statement. _A Summoning Jutsu?_ Iruka watched as his father placed his hands down flat on the sandy ground and the boy, even though he had never learned about chakra, could feel _something_ seeping out of his father and onto the ground. Iruka felt himself being pushed back as the ground seemed to erupt, spraying water everywhere. Iruka unconsciously closed his eyes as he found himself being lifted into the air and thrown backwards. Even though he wasn't training to become a shinobi, Iruka was easily able to land back on his feet a few meters away from where his father, now soaked in water, was standing up. Iruka looked around, wondering what kind of creature his father could summon. He knew that summons weren't kept within a family-people who signed a contract in blood would be able to summon certain creatures-but if his father said no one else could summon this beast, Iruka knew it to be true.

With a gasp, Iruka's eyes finally landed on the odd creature his father had obviously summoned. It was not even a full head shorter than he was, but it was formidable looking all the same. It had yellowish green skin-or scales-with dark hair rimming the top of its unusually shaped head, that seemed to dip downwards into its skull. It also had an odd, slightly pointed face and what looked like a tortoise shell attached to its back. Iruka watched as the creature took a few steps forwards-towards the boy-before Iruka found his voice again.

"W-what is that?" Iruka asked, unable to hide the quiver in his voice. The creature appeared to be evil and something in its eyes told Iruka to be careful around the monster-those eyes looked hungry. As though Iruka's voice had been an aroma that had wafted to the starving thing, the scaly beast took a few more steps towards him, his eyes glued on Iruka. "T-Tou-san?"

"…Tou…san?" The creature stopped as he repeated Iruka's words, tilting his head slightly as he obviously thought over the title, but that famished look didn't leave its face. Iruka had felt his skin prickle when he heard the crackling voice of the thing-it obviously was male, from the deep tone-and he found himself holding his breath as the creature turned his head to the side and its black eyes caught a glimpse of Iruka's father. "Teme…! How dare you summon me! If this is one of your sick mind games, gaki, I will eat the child before your eyes!"

"It's good to see you again, Mari," Iruka's father stated, somehow unfazed by the hateful glare he got in return. The creature bristled for a moment, a deep growl erupting from its pursed beak-like lips. Iruka watched this confrontation with curiosity. Obviously whatever kind of creature this was, it couldn't outright attack his father, even though Iruka could clearly see that it was considering it.

"If I didn't know any better, gaki, I'd say you were demon-spawn…" the scaly creature snarled as it looked away from the man and back to Iruka. His restraint apparently didn't include Iruka guessing from the sadistic smile that crossed the thing's mouth as its beady eyes traveled up and down Iruka's body. The boy took a step back before biting his lip thoughtfully.

There was something vaguely familiar about the creature approaching Iruka, a green-tinged tongue darting out of his mouth to lick those oddly shaped lips. Iruka furrowed his eyebrows, knowing that there was_ something _that he should remember about the thing coming close enough to Iruka that he could smell the pungent odor of algae on him. His chocolate eyes stared at that dip in the creature's head, unable to contain the grin that crossed across his face when he remembered one of the many books he had read in his free time. Iruka took a deep breath and stood up straight, suddenly realizing that he had begun to cower.

Squaring his shoulders, Iruka glanced over at his father, who was looking at the river again. The man seemed to be ignoring Iruka's encounter with the slimy creature, but Iruka knew that the man was keeping a subtle watch on Iruka and would step in if the thing tried in anyway to hurt his son.

Iruka took another deep breath and forced his facial features to return to some semblance of calm, then bowed forwards. He waited, his eyes locked on the ground parallel to his upper body, until he heard the creature move-his back making a sound somewhere between a wet _squish_ and a crack as he returned the polite gesture. Iruka was about to stand back up, but hesitated a moment longer, a smile coming to his face when his ears caught a different sound-water splashing.

"Kuso!" the creature cried, making Iruka look up as he straightened his back and the boy couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the once frightening beast hold his concave head, cursing under his breath. Iruka bit his lip, glancing over at his father and was granted a brief grin on the usually emotionless man. He was proud! Iruka found himself instantly elated as he took a step towards the creature, assured that he wouldn't hurt him now.

"Gomen…_Kappa_-san (1)…" Iruka said as he bowed quickly, but was rewarded with a glare. The creature didn't look at all pleased as he took a few quick steps and slipped into the river, Iruka following at his heels.

With a growl, the half-submerged beast turned around to look at Iruka.

"Yoroshii (2)," he stated with a sigh as his beady eyes fixed on Iruka. "And, unlike your _father_, you will not call me 'Mari'! My name is Mizutamari Mari (3), gaki." The creature glared at Iruka's father as he said this, as if hoping the man would say something so that he could snap at the ANBU member. Iruka nodded his head, all but bouncing as he smiled from ear to ear.

"Mari…I hope you know what you're getting yourself into," Iruka's father commented, laughter in his deep voice. Iruka caught a glimpse of his father's grin and couldn't stop from running to the man and attacking his leg lovingly. The brunette clung to the older Umino, his head buried into the soft material as he profusely thanked the man.

_I'll surely be a great shinobi…with a demon at my side!_

Authoress: okay, okay…I'll explain all the numbering now…if anyone was wondering about them…or didn't understand something

(1) Kappa - kappa are water demons in Japanese mythology (they actually look like 'Mari'; size, shells, dent in the head and all…very odd creatures!). They are believed to attack its prey (horses, cattle, humans, etc. by dragging them into the water and feeding on their blood, draining their life force, sucks out their entrails (yum…hear the sarcasm there!), or pulls out their livers through their anuses (…all right…_I_ don't even have a comeback for that one!)…and that is why they're also called the shirokodama (anus) vampire…okay…that's just weird. There are many stories of kappa pulling small children (like our Iruka!) into the water and drowning them. Kappa are mostly evil, but not all the time. When they're benevolent, they're supposed to be skilled teachers in medicine (…yea…and this coming from the anus vampires…). Kappa are always said to be trustworthy and always keeps their promises. Kappa usually help or mentor those who outsmart or capture them (heeey…that's what Iruka did!…and I'll explain how!). According to myths, the depression in the kappa's head holds a strength-giving fluid and that, if you bow deeply to a quarrelsome kappa, and if they bow in return, this liquid will spill. This in turn will make the kappa weak and force it to return to water. Poor Mari…he was tricked!

(2) Yoroshii - translates to all right, fine, okay, very well…yada yada yada…

(3) Mizutamari Mari - translates to 'pool'…alright…I liked how it sounded, okay!

Iruka:…a kappa…my father summoned a kappa?

Authoress: well…think about your name, Iruka-kun!

Iruka: …?

Authoress: for those who haven't realized this yet…Umino Iruka…it means something…Umi - sea No - of…and many other possessive particle meanings… Iruka - dolphin…we all knew that one…so that equals "Sea of Dolphins"…Kawaii, ne?

Iruka: what does that have to do with kappa?

Authoress:…Urusai! I thought that, since their family name reflects the sea…we needed some cool water-based jutsu to fit their family…and make Iruka kick-ass in so many ways…what better way to do that than to have the Umino family members able to summon water demons!…okay, I will explain more about that in later chapters…but I know if I keep writing…someone's going to yell at me in a review…so I'll hush up! Oh, and one more thing...arigatou, Beta-chan!...and whoever else would be interesting in being beta writers!


	6. Together On An Island

Authoress: alright, I'm back with chapter six (and I just put up chapter five…you all should be so proud!)…actually…I'm sick right now…so I have nothing better to do…unless I feel like watching one of my (many) Charmed eppies (THAT SHOW IS ADDICTIVE!) or Dirty Dancing (…I have yet to watch that whole movie in one sitting!)…so…here I am…

Iruka/looks at the many windows the Authoress has up/ …you're on MSN messenger…talking to people…

Authoress: yeaaa…from Venezuela…and this guy doesn't speak English…what fun!…(it's a great chance to practice for my Spanish Regents in a few weeks (save me…onegai!)) We actually are holding a good conversation…poor thing had his heart broken…/cries for her new Hispanic buddy/

Authoress: alrighty then…I am writing a new story now (yeah yeah, I know, I'm not finished with my other stories yet…but, this was too good to pass up…) I am co-writing it with **Heosic-chan** (read her other stories, like "Of Demons, Hormones, and Spying"…wonderful Naruto fic/smiles/) We decided on writing it after we discovered FFN has a depressingly small number of fics centered around our favorite number one lazy nin and Choji (those two were _so_ made for each other…) So, it will be a romance fic, but also a humor one (you'll all see why when we finally get the first chapter up!) It will be under Heosic-chan's name, not mine…so go to her profile and check out her amazing stories! "Jealousy Is So Troublesome" (or something to that effect) will be the title to our dual fic…and I hope everyone likes it (from what we've written and talked about so far, it'll be awesome!)

Shikamaru: Mendokusee…

Authoress: Alright, that's not why I'm writing now…it's to give you chapter six of Underneath the Scars…so on to the story…oh, and one more thing…/smiles sheepishly/ I have three beta readers so far and I'd like to thank everyone who applied for the position (but, no more applications, please…I can't stand turning amazing writers down! It makes me almost cry…but I did find new and amazing stories in the process!)…but I can only have so many people nagging at me for my typos! They are **Heosic-chan **(…/cries/ amazing stories!), **The LB **(read her fic, "Curiosity Killed The Cat", you won't be disappointed…a wonderful story!), and **Beta-kun** (we met her last chapter…when she made fun on my terrible abilities with video games…)

**LB**: Thanks for the intro, Kanemoshi-chan! Whee! My first beta attempt! Wish me luck!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…get it, got it…good…but if I _did_…oooo…there would be some serious action going on in every dark street corner…or in full daylight…in a few cases…damnnit…Iruka and Kakashi would never do the dirty in a dark alley if they had a choice! (well…we'd choose for them, ne/snickers evilly/)…and I don't own any of those lovely bolded names you see above…they are all amazing writers (I shall admit…I am addicted to their stories…and LB-chan is writing a new story…we should all be bouncing in joy /cries/ she's an amazing writer!)…so…anyways…on to chapter six!

Chapter Six

Iruka laid back and stared at the markings that streaked across his ceiling. Kakashi had left his apartment nearly an hour ago, but the chuunin had yet to get himself motivated enough to start replenishing his chakra reserves. With a sigh, the brunette stretched his arms over his head and was rewarded with an echoing series of _pops_. Iruka began closing his eyes, but kept one cracked open enough to see the drop of water on the wooden floor. It would have probably been overlooked by anyone but the overly clean man, but Iruka knew his training room to be the driest room in the apartment and that he hadn't washed the floors recently. Remembering that small fact, the chuunin began sitting up, pulling up a mental inventory of his cleaning products.

"How long are you going to lay there?" Iruka asked aloud as he started counting all the new cleaners he'd have to buy soon in his head, keeping an eye on that water droplet. It quivered slightly, as if the floor had shaken, but the chuunin felt no such quake. Iruka sat up the rest of the way and turned so he could face the bead of liquid. He waited as the small globule flattened out and began increasing in size. Within a minute, the droplet had grown into an actual puddle on the chuunin's otherwise spotless floor. Iruka peered into the dark nadir and wasn't surprised to find himself looking into the face of a scaly, green creature as though he was looking at its watery image. Iruka smirked, noticing that his reflection couldn't even be seen on the almost black water's surface. "Mizutamari Mari-sensei…it has been a while since you've last come to visit me," Iruka commented as he watched the demon's features contort into something meant to resemble a smile. To anyone but Iruka, it probably would have looked more like the demon was soundlessly snarling. To the chuunin, it was reminded him of when the Sandaime smiled at him. It gave a sense of warmth and security, but you could see the power hidden in those wise eyes. The water's surface rippled, distorting Mizutamari Mari's face into an unrecognizable mixture of green, beige, and black. After a moment, the water's tranquility returned and Iruka sighed softly when he saw the battle scars covering his submerged teacher's face. Too bad the kappa would never be able to defeat this nemesis-time.

Iruka could see that the demon had aged rapidly in the past few years. Where there was once taught, yellowish-green scales, now only soft wrinkles remained. The creature's skin had dulled over the years as well, loosing the healthy luster that always gotten Iruka to remember how powerful the demon was when he was a child. The beige scales blended into an almost pastel shade of green that, with each passing year, became even more faint. Iruka knew, from years of being tutored by the kappa, that they were recognized by their colorings and those shades usually didn't change unless the kappa was unusually old or terminally ill. Iruka, regrettably, knew his mentor was both.

Mizutamari Mari had been a 'tutor' in his father's family for over a thousand years. From what the small demon had told Iruka, he had been originally tricked by one of Iruka's ancestors when he was just a few centuries old. For his clumsiness, Mizutamari Mari was condemned by his own family to serve the Umino clan until one of their bloodline freed him. That hadn't happened for a thousand years. Iruka, after hearing the demon's plight, had considered releasing the kappa, but his father had told him that, if he had done that, Mizutamari Mari would most definitely kill their entire family for revenge.

After the Kyuubi attacked the village and Iruka lost his family, the boy had gone through a period of depression. Knowing he was the last in his line, Iruka had happily freed the kappa, praying his father's prediction would come true. It amazed Iruka when the demon simply thanked him, then left. Mitsumari Mari hated Iruka's entire clan with a passion, but the demon hadn't even put a scratch on Iruka. Ever since then, Mizutamari Mari showed up at odd intervals and, oddly enough, continued Iruka's lessons. As of late, those visits were becoming less frequent and Iruka found himself, more than once, missing his old sensei. There was something _calming_ about the demon. Maybe it was that Mizutamari Mari was, essentially, the only family Iruka had left. The mere idea of a demon being his only family made Iruka smirk as he sat back, keeping his eyes on the image in the puddle. It was one of the first jutsu that Mizutamari Mari taught Iruka after the brunette had graduated to his current position of chuunin.

"Kuso…I would have come earlier if that ningen would have _left_ at a sane hour!" the kappa retorted, feigning anger. Iruka knew that, for all his grumbling about Kakashi, the demon liked the jounin. He had always wanted to study Kakashi's Sharingan and figure out a way to reproduce the eye's abilities, something that he had told Iruka years ago. He had nearly danced when Iruka had told him a few weeks ago that he was friends with the infamous shinobi.

"You've been here all day, Sensei," Iruka pointed out. He had noticed the water droplet earlier that morning, but knew better than to ruin his teacher's surprise-whatever that was. The kappa loved to give Iruka gifts-whether it was a new jutsu or some small thing he had picked up as he traipsed around the world via water sources. It wasn't often the old demon would be at Iruka's in the morning and not show himself, especially since two of his favorite shinobi (though he would never confess his fondness for either man) were in the same room together. Iruka was amazed at his willpower not to make an impressive entrance-as Mizutamari Mari was known to do. The demon didn't care who knew of his existence, but complied with Iruka's wishes and kept out of the sight of people. Because of that, no one knew about Iruka's summoning ability-except the Sandaime and Naruto. Mizutamari Mari was good friends with the Sandaime, since the pair were always grumbling about Iruka's attitude and pranks, and the demon adored Naruto (but, even under torture, he would never admit his soft spot for the blonde). Naruto was so similar to Iruka, it wasn't a shock to know that Mizutamari Mari took care of Naruto, even though the boy wasn't aware of it the majority of the time. The fact that Naruto was a demon container only made Mizutamari Mari like the child even more. The demon had told Iruka once that he had met the infamous Kyuubi no Kitsune and, from that one chance meeting, had respected her ever since. At the time, Iruka was slightly taken aback to know the Kyuubi was female, but as Naruto grew older, it was slightly apparent in the way he moved and talked. There was just something _feminine_ about him. Iruka knew the blonde wasn't aware about that small detail in himself, but, then again, most people didn't notice it either. Most of the village either ignored Naruto's very existence or thought it was something about his wild antics that always made them feel…safer-happier when around the ball of orange energy. Iruka knew it was the mothering instinct that Naruto naturally radiated, something Mizutamari Mari always laughed about. The Kyuubi wasn't exactly known for her maternal senses.

"Bah, I was napping for most of the day since I knew you had_ training _this afternoon," the demon stated from inside his puddle. Iruka chuckled at the disapproving tone in his teacher's voice. Mizutamari Mari had always hated the idea of Iruka working two jobs, along with raising Naruto. He had adamantly fought with Iruka when he found out about the training with Gai. He thought that it would be too much for the chuunin to handle-and he proved there was truth in his argument today. Iruka smiled as he watched Mizutamari Mari make an expression that was close to resembling a frown. The demon always hated when Iruka worked himself into chakra depletion (unless it was his own doing, then Mizutamari Mari just laughed at how "weak" Iruka was). "Really…a transportation jutsu in your condition…it could have seriously injured you…" he said with a reprimanding tone in his voice. Iruka sighed and lifted his head up to look up at the ceiling. He rolled his eyes, hoping that the demon couldn't see him. He had heard this same argument at least ten times in the past year alone. He mouthed the words as the demon spewed them out, not missing a single syllable. "Do you know what a chakra depletion could do to you? Not only could you knock yourself into unconsciousness-that'd be the best outcome, you stubborn moron! You could have exhausted your mind to the point you could no longer function on the most basic of levels! I've taught you enough medicine for you to know what happens when you brain performs incorrectly! You could have become paralyzed-perhaps permanently! You could have started suffocating, or even gotten you heart to stop beating. Blindness, deafness…you could have turned into a worthless piece of tenacious flesh! Not only that, but a _transportation jutsu!_ What would you have done if you hadn't had enough chakra to complete the jutsu and got caught in the middle of it? Half of you would have been moved to your house and the other would still be on the other side of Konoha! For all of my medical knowledge, along with that new Hokage of yours, we wouldn't be able to put you back together, you annoying child!"

Iruka bit back a smirk as he rubbed one of his, now, aching ears. Somehow being submerged in water had an amplification property when it came to the kappa. That, added to the fact that, when Mizutamari Mari wanted to, he could be really loud, left the chuunin's head pounding slightly as his ears rang. "Done yet?" he asked as he glanced over at the puddle, where he saw a fuming kappa in its murky depths.

"_Done_! I've only _begun_, gaki! I came here to tell you some good news, but…_nooo_…I have to find you half conscious with that moron of a jounin…_and_ you're currently weak enough your pre-genin brats could take you on and beat you into submission!" Iruka chuckled at that. Sometimes his sensei was known for his exaggeration, but this time, he was actually pretty close to the truth. Iruka had about enough chakra to keep himself awake, and that was it. "I'm about ready to leave you here in this state and watch when you finally go into shock. And don't worry, I'll brink snacks so I can watch the entertainment!" Mizutamari Mari had that sadistic quality about him, but Iruka was used to it, to the chuunin merely let a, now, trembling hand flip off the puddle of yelling water. "Oh, sure, you have spunk now! But give yourself two hours and you'll be shaking violently and be half-unconscious, praying that someone would kill you from the splitting headache you have. Within an hour of that, you'll be alternating between getting chills and fevers. It'll be so quick of changes, you'll be vomiting whatever contents you have in your ningen organs. Then, from all the pressure on you're unconsciously putting on your body, you'll burst blood vessels in your lungs, nose, eyes, and eardrums. So, once you stop heaving your past day of meals, your lungs and stomach will be filling up with blood as you become temporarily blind because of your bleeding eyes _and_ you'll lose the ability to hear as you involuntarily shatter your own eardrums with your screams of pain and violent tremors. And, from that moment on, things will only get worse!"

"…that's disgusting, Sensei," Iruka commented as he started rubbing his hands, which were trembling from the lack of chakra. He was, inwardly, frightened as he felt his body start becoming colder. Things only became worse for the chuunin as he realized what Mizutamari Mari was completely true (just not that…_violent_…unless Iruka did something about his condition soon).

"…I've seen it happen to the greatest of youkai _and_ shinobi before, gaki, so I know what I'm talking about," Mizutamari Mari stated nonchalantly as Iruka's body started shaking so violently that he could no longer hold his hands together. The demon caught that particular detail and Iruka could hear him sigh from his water puddle. "Alright, come here, baka…"

Iruka would have probably kissed the watery demon if it hadn't been for the fact his entire body was becoming numb as he slid closer to the puddle and dipped his hand into its depths. Logically, Iruka should have felt the wood of his floor, but he was able to put his entire forearm straight down into the water without finding such a thing. The jutsu was similar to a transportation jutsu, but was much more complicated, since it gave the ability to move pieces of the body (or voice, etc.) between time and dimensions without any side effects, except for the slight tingling feeling in the chuunin's arm. It felt as though his arm wasn't his own anymore, but Iruka knew the sensation was caused from the fact part of his body was in another dimension right now under so much pressure that it should have crushed a normal human's body. Thankfully, Iruka had been taught jutsu that would protect him if he ever decided to descend so far underwater. Those shielding jutsu were put in place when he was so young that it would be impossible for Iruka to remove them now. It would be like loosing a part of himself and his body wouldn't be able to cope with such a change.

"Baka…now hold still a minute…" Mizutamari Mari grumbled as his webbed hands gracefully moved through the water to grasp Iruka's arm and immediately the chuunin felt a deep chill set into his body, running up his arm and into his chest at an almost inconceivable speed. It was far different from the feeling a person gets when another human puts chakra into them, like in the case of healing jutsu. That gives off a warm, tingling sensation that makes a person feel at ease immediately. This, on the other hand, made Iruka's entire body freeze up, his lungs becoming paralyzed as fear overtook him.

It was unnatural to have a demon's chakra be forced into a human's body and, even after years of working on this exact kind of transfer with his sensei, Iruka still had ill consequences to deal with. The chuunin opened his mouth, but found that his windpipe had been tightened so that he couldn't even attempt to _gasp_ for air as Mizutamari Mari fed the dark energy into his arm. _Dark_. There was no other way to describe the chakra. Iruka had always perceived the Kyuubi's chakra as a red, fiery energy, whereas ningen chakra was more of a blue, airy substance. This wasn't in any way similar to either. It was empty of all emotion, all sensations…even color. Iruka's body began shivering worse than it had previously been, his arm jerking around in the puddle, but Mizutamari Mari dug his nails into the skin, not letting the chuunin go.

Iruka hardly felt the pain, only the feeling of _something_ happening to his arm as he watched a burst of red puff outwards from his submerged arm. The cloud expanded in the puddle and the chuunin could see the odd glint of hunger that came to Mizutamari Mari's beady eyes when the crimson met the demon's mouth. The kappa sucked in the stained water greedily as Iruka began seeing black spots from lack of air. If he hadn't already been through this process before, he would have been very nervous at the pleasure he could see in his sensei's face. Blood for chakra. It was an equal trade in their minds. Iruka felt his body give out underneath him and he fell over, his entire arm, half his chest, and his head being pulled into the water. He didn't wrestle to pull himself out of the cold, dark water since he hadn't been breathing while his head was still above water. Iruka closed his eyes, forcing his body to calm down even though his instincts were to thrash around and try to free himself. The amazing amount of pressure being put on the chuunin's body that had been pulled underwater gave him a pounding headache within seconds. Iruka knew that, even if he was to open his eyes, he would see black and probably do damage to his own eyes, so he kept them tightly shut as his chest constricted, his entire body screaming for air. Iruka ignored the impulse to breathe and instead, let the numbness take over his body. Within a minute, he was too cold to even register that he was unconscious.

_Warmth…inhale…exhale…_ The most basic of instincts came to Iruka's mind as the almost forgotten sensation of heat crept into his body. He inwardly was content with just being able to simply _breathe_ as he remained perfectly still. A part of his body was screaming to move, to find out what happened, to see where he was, but he disregarded the idea as he swallowed, never being so happy just to be able to gulp warm air without battling with constricted organs.

"…arigatou, Kami-sama," a woman's voice, filled with relief, floated to Iruka's ears. That voice, slightly familiar, was what made Iruka open his eyes hesitantly. His vision was immediately flooded with light and, after blinking a few times to remove watery tears from his eyes, his vision cleared up enough that he could see a woman leaning over him, her thin eyebrows furrowed together in concern-and annoyance. "What the hell did you do to yourself, Iruka-sensei!"

"…Ho-Hokage..s-sama…" Iruka said softy, his voice cracking with the effort it took to make the sounds. She glared at him for a moment, then sighed as she leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. Iruka struggled to slowly sit up and, as he did so, he glanced around the room and found himself laying in a cot in the Hokage's office.

"…you're damn lucky I found one of Sarutobi's records on you…" she stated, annoyance in her voice. Iruka chuckled softly, but the sound was too hoarse to be considered anything but a hiss of air escaping his lungs. "…I probably would have killed those slimy things that brought you in otherwise…"

"…Mizutamari Mari-sensei…" Iruka whispered roughly as he looked down at his hands, which were still trembling, but not as badly as they had been before. His eyes traveled up his arm and smiled sardonically when he saw the deep holes in his forearm. The puncture wounds weren't bleeding, nor were they healed or bandaged. They were plugged up with a clear, watery substance, which gave Iruka the chance to look into his arm and see everything from skin and muscle to bone and tendons. It was one of Iruka's own creations and Mizutamari Mari had been ecstatic to learn it after Iruka perfected the jutsu years ago. It didn't allow for blood loss, infection, or even pain. It didn't take anything but a drop of chakra to control-which, upon a quick check of himself, Iruka found himself to have a surplus of.

"…All I read about was that the Umino clan could control kappa…I didn't ever expect to have one burst into my office in a _puddle_, throwing you out of it…half-dead, I'd like to add…" Tsunade stated coldly as she pulled Iruka's injured arm away from him and studied the holes. "I couldn't heal your arm…I'm hoping you could explain what the hell this jutsu is…and what you did to yourself in the first place…"

"…chakra depletion…that kappa forced chakra into me before I went into shock…those holes are where his claws dug into me…" Iruka replied, noticing immediately how Tsunade's back stiffened at his comment. By all medical (and logical) laws, no human should be able to contain a demon's chakra. Naruto and the Sabaku no Gaara were special cases, though. They had the demons contained within them since birth and their chakra had been melding with the demons' for years. Iruka was a completely different situation altogether. He had, literally, forced his body to accept a demon's energy since he was young. It was similar to the way someone builds up an immunity to a poison, but Iruka could never rid himself of all the side effects, unless he wanted to spend the next few years in and out of hospitals.

"…demonic chakra…have you lost your mind!" Tsunade roared, which nearly got Iruka to jump, but he had been expecting such a reaction. She was one of the greatest medical shinobi to ever exist, so she obviously knew what something like that could do to a person. "You could have killed yourself!"

"Iie…I've been doing it for years…I just was very low on chakra this time…and passed out…" Iruka stated as coolly as he could. He slid his legs off the cot and slowly started to stand up, but froze when he saw Tsunade glare at him. It obviously meant that she wanted some more answers. "Daijoubu, Tsunade-sama…Mizutamari Mari-sensei probably just brought me here so he could meet you. He's quite the doctor himself and has always admired your abilities. I'm in no danger, except for a splitting headache and fatigue…" Tsunade kept glowering, but Iruka noticed that the edge was taken off her look.

"The jutsu?"

Iruka smiled at the Hokage. She knew genius when she saw it and was obviously curious over how he had accomplished such a feat. "A jutsu I created years ago. Using only the tiniest bit of demonic chakra, I can put water into a state somewhere between a liquid and solid. It protects against infection, is able to transport blood just as well as blood vessels and makes up for whatever nerves have been damaged, so there is hardly any pain." Iruka always had an ounce of the kappa's chakra in his body, keeping it as an emergency store of energy just in case he ever needed to use this particular jutsu. Today was the first time he tested himself to the point he found out that he could keep himself from using that particular bit of chakra even under chances of dying if he didn't gain chakra in some way. Thankfully, Mizutamari Mari was there, or else Iruka would have had some serious problems.

"It's brilliant in theory…but you're the only shinobi who would be able to use it…" Tsunade commented, her fingers wrapping around Iruka's arm so she could pull the arm closer to her and study the ten circular holes. "Now I'm starting to wonder why you didn't become a medic nin…something like this would be amazing if we could ever recreate its effects…"

"…only the Village of Mist would probably ever find a way to copy it," Iruka replied. Tsunade nodded her head, realizing that their village had very few water jutsu to look back on for reference if they ever wanted to study Iruka's odd medical jutsu. She knew just as well as the chuunin that water-walking wouldn't help in this case.

"…where did your family come from…after reading the Umino files, I know your family had an amazing grasp on water jutsu…and it's not just from being tutored by kappa…" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow at Iruka, who chuckled softly. No one had ever asked him that before, since everyone just assumed his family had always lived in Konohagure.

"…the Hidden Village of Sea…my family moved here generations ago…after a war erupted near our village and it was destroyed," Iruka replied calmly. He had heard the story from his father and _great_ grandfather, who had been just a boy when the Umino clan had moved to Konoha. His grandfather was killed in a war years before Iruka was born, so he never had the chance to know the man, but had heard that he was, by far, one of the most powerful Umino shinobi before Iruka's father, who had nearly mastered everything their kappa sensei could teach him. Iruka was the only one in history to actually _teach_ the old demon something and be in a relationship of equals with the kappa. Everyone else in Iruka's family was too afraid to get to know Mizutamari Mari past the point of calling him 'sensei' and calling him when they needed his power or advise.

"…I've heard of the village…my father told me stories of how powerful it was and that it was destroyed within two days by an army of youkai…" Tsunade trailed off, giving Iruka a curious look. "It was rumored that the Hidden Village of Sea was home to all of the demonic powers to exist. Before it was wiped off the map, it was said that demons like the Kyuubi and even Shukaku were known to live there for certain times during the year. People traveled from all over the world to go there and ask for assistance from the demonic clans…" Iruka bit his lip, wondering exactly _how_ much Tsunade had heard of the village. It was one of those topics that wasn't supposed to be spoken of, unless people were in the highest of shinobi positions. "…It was said that every family living in the village, there was a patron demon watching over them…but one day, the demons revolted and killed off all the ningen families. How did your family escape?"

"…sheer luck…my great grandfather and his sister had been on a genin mission when the village was destroyed. After they found out what happened, they changed their names and moved to Konoha, praying that the demons would never find them. Except for Mizutamari Mari, no one except the Kyuubi ever found us, but Sensei told no one since he was bound to our family for eternity and, if we died off, he would never be able to return to his own kind."

"That's why _it_ attacked our village?" Tsunade demanded. Iruka nodded his head slightly. It had been one of the many reasons the kitsune had gone to Konohagure, but it certainly was the main reason she had attacked. The other was that shinobi had realized she was a demon and attacked her first-she had just been fighting in self defense for the majority of the incident. Iruka knew all she wanted was to kill off the rest of his family so that _all_ demons were free of human interference, not to actually nearly destroy Konoha. Most people never knew that-probably the only people who ever realized that besides Iruka were the three Hokages, the Third, Fourth, and now, Tsunade. "But your father was the one who was able to hold it down long enough for the Fourth to seal it in Naruto…and he died from the strain it put on him…" Iruka lowered his head. He had been there, he had seen how using that much demonic chakra had, literally, torn his father's body apart piece by piece-layer by layer. Maybe that was why he had begun building up an immunity to using Mizutamari Mari's chakra, so he would never have to go through that pain and suffering if he ever needed to use the same binding jutsu his father had.

_Even back then, I could have done something to save him…to save the village…_Iruka thought to himself, unable to rid his subconscious of the guilt he had been holding onto for all these years. It was the one thing that he could never forgive; never forget.

Kakashi let his visible eye scan the characters in the newest book from Jiraiya-sama. He had nearly danced in glee when he had seen the display of them this morning as he had gone out for a walk. He had no mission-a blessing in his mind. After his last mission, reconnaissance over in the hidden village of Sound, he needed a _long_ break, both from ANBU missions and from his three energetic students. A chuckle bubbled up from his chest at the thought of the genin trio. They were so much like his own cell when he was young and all he could do was pray they didn't end up the same way. There was very little chance of that happening, though. Naruto was too powerful to die, Sakura was too cautious to have the same fate as Rin…and Sasuke…that boy had been through so much and probably wouldn't ascend up the shinobi ladder as quickly as Kakashi and his brother had, even if he put all of his energy into training. Sasuke wasn't able to be that ruthless-he had seen death, had his share of loss, and it obviously put a dent on his character. As long as he didn't become immune to emotions, like Kakashi had, then he would be fine.

"Oi, Kakashi!" the jounin looked up and was surprised to see Anko and Kurenai walking up to him, their arms locked together. It was the friendly pose between the two kunoichi that made warning bells go off in Kakashi's head. He, instead of running as fast and as far as possible (like his instincts screamed for him to do), waved at the women and waited until they walked up to him.

"Yo."

"Don't 'yo' us, Kakashi…what did you do to Ruru-chan!" Kurenai demanded, using her free arm to poke an index finger (painfully) into Kakashi's vest. Those nails were dangerously sharp, but Kakashi ignored the stabs of pain erupting in his chest as she poked him a few more times for good measure. His mind was completely on her question."

"Iruka?…what happened?" Kakashi wondered, forcing himself to sound bored while he was inwardly becoming very concerned. He had left the chuunin a few hours ago so Iruka could sleep and, hopefully, regain his chakra. His eyes caught the glimmer of surprise in the women's eyes as they glanced at each other. Apparently, they thought he knew what had happened, which made Kakashi even more curious to know what had happened to Iruka in such a short period of time.

"He was in the Hokage's office…when he came out…he didn't look too good. Kinda pale…" Kurenai commented as she thankfully removed her finger from Kakashi's vest to tap it against her red lips thoughtfully.

"Tsunade-sama looked a little shaken up after he left…and we heard from Gai that _you_ were the last one to see him today…" Anko stated, as if she was insinuating Kakashi was doing something scandalous with the chuunin teacher. Kakashi merely raised an eyebrow at her tone. His "friends" obviously knew nothing about him if they thought he would do something to Iruka. The young man was nothing more than a good friend (at least, a better friend than the band of jounin who seemed to always be finding Kakashi to gossip with him or pull him into a bar for a few drinks). "…by the way, what _were_ you doing at Ruru-chan's house today?"

"We were going to go out for dinner, but he was suffering from chakra depletion after training with Gai…I left him so he could sleep it off," Kakashi said, showing as much emotion as he would in one of his mission reports. The two women looked at each other, exchanging glances that made hairs on the back of Kakashi's neck stand up. They were planning something…and he knew them well enough to know now would be the perfect time to run. But something kept his feet glued to the ground as Kurenai smirked.

"_Chakra depletion?_ Ruru-chan was overflowing with chakra when he came out of the Hokage's office…but he did have some interesting marks on his arm…they kind of looked like _bite_ marks…" Kakashi couldn't help but widen his eyes at Krurenai's comment. _Bite marks_! What was Iruka doing after he left him? "I didn't know you were into that kind of thing, Kakashi…or that Ruru-chan was, for that matter…"

"Whaa!" Kakashi's casual attitude dropped when he heard what she was insinuating. It was one thing to humor _himself_ with an image or two every now and again, but to have the woman think he was in a relationship of that caliber with the chuunin was too much! "I'm not…we're not…I mean…we're just friends…"

"Aw, look, 'Kashi-kun's getting flustered," Anko said sweetly, a smile stretching across her face. Kakashi nearly sweat dropped when he saw that expression. She had something up her sleeve and he was sure he didn't want to know what she was thinking about. It was one thing to know the kunoichi was the leader of the village's Yaoi fan club-it was another matter entirely to know that the woman was having misconceptions about his relationship with Iruka.

"I'm not getting _flustered_!" Kakashi exclaimed, glad that his mask was able to cover up the blush spreading across his cheeks. The two women had lecherous grins on their faces as he backed up a step. They certainly had something on their minds and Kakashi was about to run for his life, but froze when he saw something in Anko's eyes.

"Oi, Kakashi…you've never acted like this when we've made fun of the rest of your partners…you must really like Ruru-chan!" Anko stated, hearts coming to her brown eyes as she clasped her hands together joyously. She was probably having a daydream of Iruka and Kakashi doing less than friendly things with one another, from the sigh that escaped her lips. Kakashi's Sharingan eye twitched as he glared at the woman with his other eye. It was one of Anko's favorite pastimes-to joke around about Kakashi's choice in bed partners. She had the best time when it was a man (that she knew) so she could whisper dirty things as she walked by either man, which got them to splutter and blush furiously while everyone else wondered what just happened. That was why, for the past few years, Kakashi had kept his relationships very quiet and short. He didn't sleep with anyone more than a few weeks-the longest being a month, and that was only if that person was _really_ good in bed. No matter how many lovers he had, though, Kakashi was sure never to get emotionally attached to them. The most he ever allowed himself to feel for someone was a slight friendship once they separated and went their individual ways. Maybe that was why he hadn't had a chance to be in anyone's bed lately-he had slept with the majority of the shinobi population (who were free…and some that weren't) and none of them would start up another relationship with Kakashi, even if he ever showed interest in them again.

Iruka was somehow different. Kakashi didn't _want _to sleep with him. Well, he actually wanted to fuck the chuunin to the point Iruka would be unable to walk for weeks, but that was besides the point. Kakashi never made a move because he _liked_ this friendly relationship he had with the man. It reminded him of how he and Obito had been before things had gotten…_complicated_ between them. Kakashi wouldn't even admit it to himself, but he didn't want to get himself into a sexual relationship with Iruka because he was afraid of what he might _feel_ afterwards.

With a sigh, Iruka flopped down onto his counter, stretching his arms across the wooden countertop. It was just his luck that, as he was leaving Tsunade's office that he would run into Kurenai, who had caught a glimpse of his arm before he could roll down his sleeve. He inwardly cursed as he glanced over at his, now, clothed forearm. Kurenai had looked at him curiously, but (thankfully) had asked no questions. She probably spread a rumor about his wound, though and Iruka could only guess what he'd hear tomorrow when he got into the missions office. It probably would have some interesting twists and Iruka tried to prepare himself for whatever insane ideas the shinobi gossip vine would be passing around. The missions office was a breeding ground for such gossip and Iruka usually heard things before they were circulated among the jounin and ANBU, so he always knew what was going on with who, where, when…it was kind of depressing to know that _this _is what shinobi did with their free time.

"You look like hell." Iruka smirked into the tabletop when he felt a presence appear behind him and that voice drifted to his ears. He moaned softly as he flipped over and found himself peering over at an orange book hiding one very perverse jounin's face. Apparently, from the tinge of pink creeping over the edges of the book and his mask, Kakashi had heard _some_ story from Kurenai.

"…I feel like it…" Iruka replied with a snort, laying his head back down on the wood. It probably didn't look like a comfortable position, to be standing up, having his back bent so far that he could lay completely flat across the island's top. It was actually far more comfortable than a bed or chair, but Kakashi still had an eyebrow raised at Iruka's choice of a _seat_.

Kakashi stared at the chuunin, his Sharingan swirling underneath his hitai-ate. Kurenai and Anko were right-Iruka wasn't suffering from chakra depletion. The chuunin was overflowing with energy, but was still sickly pale (well, as pale as the tan man could look) and Kakashi could see that his one sleeve had been rolled down. From that particularity, Kakashi guessed that was where those marks were. "How did you…?"

"…meditation…a few jutsu…it's been a while since I last had to create so much chakra though," Iruka lied, keeping his face straight. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when Kakashi asked no more questions. The jounin simply nodded his head and pulled his porn novel away from his face long enough to grace Iruka with a masked smile. Iruka could see his face move underneath the black material and had learned a while ago how to read those slight changes in his mask's contours. Iruka glanced over at the book and noticed it wasn't the usual Icha Icha Paradise. "Icha Icha Violence?"

"Un…it just came out this morning…" Kakashi stated gleefully as he pulled the book into his chest and held it. He was only a chapter away from the end but, for the sake of his own curiosity (and concern for the chuunin) he was willing to forgo reading for a few hours. If that didn't say something for his devotion to the man, Kakashi didn't know what _would_.

Iruka chucked, his cheeks turning a faint pink when he realized that Kakashi had stopped reading in order to talk with him. Iruka was sure that the man wouldn't do that for anyone else_ but_ him. It was kind of cute to know Kakashi respected him enough to pay attention while they were talking. Then again, it might just be because Iruka had taught him a lesson the one time Kakashi had dared to read and carry on a conversation with him at the same time. "How is it so far?" Iruka asked, actually curious about the book. Kakashi was, needless to say, taken aback by the question. Iruka _hated _the books, but was _interested_ in this particular novel. The jounin smirked underneath his mask, hoping he had finally started turning Iruka into a pervert like himself. It was the one greatest accomplishment a hentai could do-to corrupt a friend who is (or _was_) a respectable person in society. That's what he had done to Anko and Kurenai…and he was still paying for that particular achievement.

"Maa…you should read it, Iruka…" Kakashi stated, walking over to the kitchen island and resting his elbows on the countertop as he bent so he could stand more comfortably. Iruka threw his head back and chuckled, an actual blush creeping across his scarred cheeks. Kakashi found it kind of cute how Iruka's scar stood out even more when he was blushing or smiling (or, in this case, both). The jounin watched Iruka as the younger shinobi shook his head at Kakashi's suggestion.

Kakashi looked down at the book in his hands, but kept sneaking glances at Iruka as the chuunin chuckled. It surprised Kakashi at first to find out Iruka was one of those people who had trouble stopping laughing once he started. Kakashi found that one of the most endearing qualities Iruka had, along with his kindness and intellect.

Iruka tried to take deep breaths to stop his laughter, suddenly embarrassed at how he was laughing hysterically while Kakashi watched him through (what Kakashi believed to be) stolen glimpses. Iruka could feel whenever Kakashi's eyes landed on him, even though he wasn't even looking at the man. Somehow, he could always tell when Kakashi was looking at him. It wasn't exactly like he _knew_ eyes were on him, but he had that sensation when other people looked at him. With Kakashi, it was more of a tightening in his chest, a quick _thump_ of his heart. Iruka thought about that for a moment, then burst into another fit of laughter.

He sounded like someone out of Kakashi's cheesy romance novels. Iruka had glimpsed at one or two of the books since he met Kakashi (just to satisfy his own curiosity). He had abruptly closed the book as soon as it got to anything beyond a simple look or smile-when his own face burst out in red and Iruka found himself unable to read anymore without seriously considering he was turning into a pervert himself.

How their heart speeds up and they blush furiously when they're around their lover, being unable to even think when _the one_ smiled at them or even looked at them in a certain light…how you could lose yourself in a person's eyes in the right light and moment. Iruka knew all the clichéd ways people expressed their emotions in those (in his opinion) terribly written novels. Things like love at first sight and other such romantic ideas were exactly what he had always wanted in a relationship, but a small part of him never believed they could exist. Iruka had, since he was young, played with the idea of someone taking his breath away, but over the years, had begun losing hope in that one romantic dream. As he took a glance over at Kakashi and their eyes met, Iruka realized he never fully understood that particular expression. It wasn't '_taking_ your breath away.' It was far more dramatic-it was leaving the brunette so flustered he had forgotten how to breathe as he became frozen by that solemn eye.

Kakashi was, simply said, surprised when Iruka glanced over at him as he was taking a quick glimpse at him. There was something in the chuunin's brown orbs that made the jounin unable to tear his gaze away. Kakashi couldn't place exactly what was in those chocolate eyes, but whatever it was, it made his stomach tighten in anxiety. Not only his stomach, but his entire body began acting strangely. His skin seemed to tingle, similar to the sensation he got when being enveloped in chakra. His heart _thumped_, its beat speeding up and it became louder-to the point, he was sure Iruka could hear it. The jounin unconsciously leaned closer to the brunette, so close, in fact, that their arms brushed against each other. That small bit of contact pulled Kakashi out of whatever spell Iruka had put him under and he blinked in surprise. _Was…I about to…kiss Iruka?_ he wondered in amazement as his face warmed up at the mere thought of kissing the chuunin. Kakashi was about to stand back up, but found himself recaptured in whatever enchantment Iruka had over him as he involuntarily moved even _closer_ to Iruka.

Iruka nearly jumped when he had felt Kakashi's arm brush against him, but the true anxiety attack hit when the jounin leaned even more towards him-now, they were so close, Iruka couldn't tell if it was _his_ or _Kakashi's_ heart he could hear pounding. Somehow, that rhythmic hammering could be heard over Iruka's attempts to breathe. Iruka had only hyperventilated once in his life…and it wasn't an experience he had wanted to repeat, but _this_…_this_ was different. Iruka, in some masochistic way, liked the sensation of being unable to breathe as Kakashi closed the distance between them and he found himself able to feel Kakashi's warm breath on his face.

The jounin didn't realize _what_ exactly he was doing until he brushed his masked lips against Iruka's. Kakashi would have probably mentally cursed (very colorfully) at his lack of self-restraint…if it hadn't been for the fact his mind went blank as understanding finally hit. He had just kissed Iruka.

Hyperventilation no longer described the effect Kakashi had on Iruka. It went _far_ beyond that point when it registered in Iruka's mind that _Kakashi_, the man who was supposed to be as emotional as a boulder (and just as romantic), stole his breath away and kissed him all within moments of each other. If Iruka had been able to regain the ability to breathe, he probably would have made some embarrassing noise close to an 'eep,' but, due to the fact he was still lacking that particular skill of respiration, Iruka settled for raising his head so he could return the gentle pressure before Kakashi thought to stop. That was the last thing Iruka wanted right now…for Kakashi to stop the medley of sensations running through the chuunin.

Kakashi didn't know that his own opinions on stopping ran parallel to the chuunin's, but he assumed they were pretty close to agreement when Iruka returned the slight movement. That simple motion sent shivers down Kakashi's back and the jounin found himself wishing he had thought of kissing Iruka long before this. For a brief instant, Kakashi wondered if Iruka actually wanted this, or if it was just hormones acting up (as they were prone to do in situations like this), but forgot exactly what he was pondering over when he felt the chuunin's hands reach towards his neck and gentle fingers curled around the bottom of Kakashi's mask.

Iruka let his eyes settle on Kakashi's visible eye, wondering if the jounin would let him take off the mask. When he didn't see any hesitation in the man's eye, he slowly slid the black material up the column of muscle in Kakashi's neck. Iruka was unhurried in his movements, his eyes taking in the pale skin of Kakashi's throat as he allowed himself one small indulgence-letting his fingers trace along the white flesh as he continued to roll up the material.

Kakashi shivered when he felt Iruka's gentle caresses. None of his other love interests had ever seen him without his mask on-his one condition if he was to sleep with someone. But Iruka was a different case. The chuunin had seen Kakashi without his mask on, so he was the only person the jounin would have allowed to touch him like this-to remove his mask so deliberately slow that Kakashi was already getting aroused by the time his jaw line had been revealed. Kakashi, unable to do anything else, removed Iruka's hitai-ate and placed the metal plate on the counter, then moved to strip Iruka of his ponytail holder. Kakashi's visible eye curved upwards in amusement as he watched the chuunin's hair fall down to frame his face. Iruka looked much better with his hair down-much sexier, but Kakashi was slightly glad that the man kept his hair up most of the time. He didn't want anyone else going after Iruka.

Iruka blushed somewhat when he felt Kakashi take his hair down. The jounin had already removed his hitai-ate _and_ Iruka's precious ponytail holder, but Iruka hadn't even revealed anything past Kakashi's jaw. A small part of the chuunin was apprehensive to pull the mask up any further-wondering what could happen if Kakashi no longer had his mask on. If Kakashi kissed him again without a barrier of material between them, Iruka was unsure of how he would react; of what he was supposed to do. The chuunin's face turned a deep crimson, realizing that this was his first kiss. For a moment, he asked himself if he wanted _Kakashi_ to be the first person he ever kissed. A smile came to his face when he realized his answer. He didn't want _anyone_ but Kakashi to be his first kiss.

"Iruka…" Kakashi whispered huskily when he noticed the slight hesitation in the chuunin's eyes, but then saw the blush staining Iruka's cheeks. _This…can't be his first kiss…can it?_ the jounin asked himself as he felt Iruka's warm fingers trace along his jaw line, then those same fingers moved upwards and brushed against the material covering his Sharingan.

"…can I…take off your hitai-ate?" Iruka asked quietly, wanting to see Kakashi's face in its entirety. That, and he thought it would be strange feeling to kiss the man while he was still wearing the strip of metal.

Kakashi chuckled when he heard Iruka's request. He had inwardly been fearing that the chuunin wanted to stop, but if Iruka was wondering if it was alright to take off his hitai-ate, then that meant that Iruka had no problems kissing Kakashi. He nodded his head and pressed his face into Iruka's warm hands.

Iruka smiled at Kakashi's action-it reminded him of a cat who wanted to be pet, the way they would push themselves into someone's hand for attention. He slid the band of material off of Kakashi's face and found himself staring into those mismatched orbs in amazement. Both eyes were filled with the same mixture of emotions-desire, wonder, curiosity-but the way the feelings were reflected were different in each eye. It made Iruka gasp for breath as he looked from one eye whose dark depths Iruka had grown accustomed to reading, to the unusual red orb. The Sharingan wasn't swirling, but Iruka still found it unsettling the way it _amplified_ Kakashi's emotions and, somehow, gave Iruka a taste of what the jounin was feeling.

Kakashi, noticing how Iruka was studying the Sharingan, closed the implanted eye and smiled. He hadn't intended to show his emotions through it, but it was one of the curses of the Sharingan. It couldn't be controlled like a normal eye since it was an unnatural part of Kakashi. The Uchiha family knew how to hide the Sharingan eyes, but Kakashi knew he never could, so he kept the eye covered so people wouldn't be subject to its hypnotic gaze.

Iruka blinked, realizing he had been staring at Kakashi's eye. His face warmed as he looked down, wondering if Kakashi had been offended. He looked back up when he heard Kakashi laugh reassuringly. Iruka bit his lip as he went back to removing Kakashi's mask, wondering what it would feel like to kiss Kakashi. That thought made Iruka's face turn a bright crimson as he lost himself in his own thoughts. Most of them were small things, like if he would be a good kisser or not, if Kakashi would laugh at him when he found out Iruka had never been kissed before. The only big question Iruka had in his head was what exactly Kakashi felt for him. After looking in the Sharingan, though, Iruka had a pretty good idea. He knew he was certainly more than a friend in Kakashi's mind.

The jounin nearly moaned when Iruka had began blushing furiously as he went to work removing the only thing stopping Kakashi from ravishing him right then and there. He didn't know someone could be so attractive when blushing like a schoolgirl, especially a grown man. On anyone else, he was sure that blush would have been peculiar looking, but on Iruka, it just made Kakashi want his mask off even more. The jounin almost shouted in joy as he felt Iruka (finally) remove the mask completely.

Iruka found himself stunned when he looked at Kakashi's entire face that he laid perfectly still and wasn't aware of the fact Kakashi had placed one hand underneath his back and the other behind his neck until Iruka felt his upper body being lifted off the counter. Iruka, assuring himself he must resemble a tomato by now, quickly became aware of the fact he was standing up when he had to tilt his head back to look up into the jounin's face. He hated being short.

Kakashi chuckled when he saw Iruka glare at him slightly, knowing exactly what had been going through Iruka's mind. He dipped his head down to Iruka's level and brushed his uncovered lips against Iruka's. _That_ certainly took Iruka's angry expression away as the chuunin's eyes widened in amazement at how soft Kakashi's lips were. The jounin, taking Iruka's moment of surprise, bent down enough that he could lift Iruka up, his hands cupping the backs of Iruka's lower thighs. He wasn't going to press his luck by invading Iruka's personal space. But, even being as considerate as he was, Iruka still eeped and blushed furiously as he felt his entire be elevated, and was about ready to yell at Kakashi to put him back down when he felt something solid underneath him. Iruka bowed his head, embarrassed slightly when he realized Kakashi had sat him down on the counter and he was now at eye-level with the tall shinobi.

"…can I kiss you?" Kakashi asked softly, his face so close to Iruka's that the chuunin could feel hot puffs of air caress his cheek. Iruka nearly slapped the man at his absurd question, but opted instead for nodding his head. It was kind of cute that Kakashi was asking him if _this_ was alright. He didn't place Kakashi as such a considerate person.

Kakashi nearly squealed with joy when he saw Iruka nod his head, then the chuunin tipped his head up to graze his lips against Kakashi's in a completely innocent kiss, but that simple contact had given Kakashi a jolt of pleasure that he hadn't been expecting and the jounin gasped. Iruka pulled back, unsure if he had heard the jounin_ gasp_, but from the tinge of pink on Kakashi's face, he heard correctly. Before Iruka caught him by surprise again, Kakashi leaned his body towards Iruka, closing the space between them and Iruka wondered momentarily how Kakashi could be so close to him, but not be touching him.

Iruka looked down and blushed when he realized that the jounin was standing between his spread legs, a hand resting on the counter on the sides of his thighs. This position gave Iruka a few perverted images (which he would have to thank Naruto and the boy's incessant descriptions of wet dreams for). Kakashi noticed the look Iruka had given their current position and smirked when the man tried to hide a smile. _And he calls me a pervert…_Kakashi thought to himself as he wrapped his arms around Iruka's waist and pulled the young man closer to him, so he was flush against Kakashi.

There was no denying Iruka was…surprised at Kakashi's actions, but he was dumbfounded when he felt _something_ that had gotten him to turn all shades of red. Kakashi saw Iruka's expression and outright laughed.

"Nani, Iruka?" he asked, gently nuzzling his nose into Iruka's neck. The chuunin gasped as he unconsciously tilted his head to give Kakashi more access to the sensitive flesh. The brunette squirmed slightly, wondering if these feelings were what Kakashi had to deal with when he had been removing his mask. If so, then he could understand why the jounin was _quite_ aroused. Iruka moaned softly when he felt Kakashi brush his lips against the exposed flesh on his neck. The silver-haired pervert raised an eyebrow, wondering what Iruka would let him get away with. His tongue darted out of his mouth and gently licked the throbbing vein on the side of the chuunin's neck. Iruka's entire body jerked when he felt _that_ and Kakashi snickered, glad to see that Iruka's neck was just as sensitive as his own.

"K-Kakashi!" Iruka exclaimed, wondering if it was possible to be blushing even more than he already was. He found out that it was achievable when he felt Kakashi gently suck on his neck, his tongue flitting across the chuunin's tan skin as he left a trail of wet marks that, with any luck (luck for Kakashi…embarrassment for Iruka), would remain for the next few days. The perverted jounin continued a path down Iruka's neck, alternating between licks and soft nips at Iruka's skin. He couldn't help but want to taste every inch of the brunette, the taste of the young man's skin-a mixture of sweat and something sweet, like honey-was more addictive than anything Kakashi had ever known. Iruka closed his eyes, letting Kakashi kiss every inch of his exposed neck and, once the jounin had done that, he started trailing his way up Iruka's neck and down his jaw. Iruka couldn't stop himself from shivering when he felt Kakashi's mouth finally reach his own, taking his lips in a gentle kiss. A wave of pleasure soared through Iruka's body as he turned his head slightly and felt the jounin's warm tongue trace along his lower lip. Unsure of what to do next, Iruka opened his mouth to ask Kakashi, but was surprised when he shivered at the tingling feeling he received as Kakashi's tongue entered his mouth and gingerly touched his own. Iruka, sure that he could not blush any worse than he already was, returned the pressure. It felt very strange to be _tasting_ Kakashi-to feel the man's tongue against his own, but Iruka found it to be slightly addictive as he became more bold with his movements and started fighting with Kakashi for dominance of the kiss.

The jounin was so surprised by Iruka's forwardness that he didn't put up much of a fight. He was perfectly content with Iruka taking control, so he wouldn't feel like he was _forcing _Iruka into anything. Kakashi moaned softly into Iruka's mouth when he felt the chuunin bring a hand up to Kakashi's head and weave his fingers into his silver hair. The jounin used one arm to brace himself against the counter as he wrapped the other around Iruka's waist and pressed their bodies even closer together. Kakashi didn't realize his mistake until he heard Iruka yelp in pain.

"…Daijoubu ka?" Kakashi asked, pulling away from Iruka long enough to see Iruka massaging his inner thigh where the jounin's pouch of kunai had prodded him. Iruka tried to glower at Kakashi, but couldn't seem to keep a straight face, so he opted to look down at the source of his pain. The jounin followed Iruka's gaze and smiled sheepishly when he saw they both were still completely armed. That wouldn't do if he wanted to properly ravish the chuunin.

With a lecherous grin, Kakashi slid his hands along Iruka's right thigh, deftly removing the pouch there. He tossed it to the floor, where it landed with a soft _chink_ of metal hitting metal, then continued upwards, repeating his actions with the pouch strapped to Iruka's lower back and then to the chuunin's vest. Both objects fell to a pile on the floor and Kakashi found himself staring at an unarmed, blushing brunette who had his arms crossed as he pouted slightly. "Wanna strip me, Iruka?" Kakashi asked with that perverse smile on his face. Iruka chuckled, shaking his head at Kakashi's sense of humor. The man had just touched him more intimately than _anyone else_ had ever been able to and Kakashi had yet to realize how much it had turned Iruka on to those fleeting touches.

Kakashi shrugged and started removing his pouches. Both hit the floor next to Iruka's belongings and Kakashi couldn't stop but chuckle at the large pile they had already produced. Between them, they could probably arm half the shinobi force in the village. As Kakashi was unzipping his plush vest, he felt Iruka's fingers hesitantly touch his gloved hands. Kakashi froze when Iruka let go of his hands and finished removing the jacket, pushing it off of Kakashi's shoulders. The jounin compliantly let the vest fall to the floor behind him and didn't do anything to stop Iruka as he then moved to get rid of the plated gloves, tossing them in the general direction of their arsenal pile.

Iruka then did something that got Kakashi to widen his eyes in amazement. He slipped his fingers underneath the jounin's black shirt and tentatively touched Kakashi's bare flesh. Kakashi couldn't help but jerk back when he felt Iruka stroke the muscles in his abdomen. Iruka quickly pulled away when he felt Kakashi's reaction, wondering if he had done something wrong.

Kakashi was now sure that this couldn't be Iruka's first time doing something like this. From the seductive way Iruka touched him, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder who the hell would be stupid enough to let someone like Iruka out of their sight. The man was even more arousing than Kakashi thought was possible and clearly his lower body agreed with him on that observation of the chuunin. Kakashi chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Iruka and pulled the chuunin to the edge of the island. He then proceeded to hungrily kiss Iruka before the chuunin started rethinking what they were doing. Iruka happily returned the attention, resting his hand on Kakashi's hips so he could pull the jounin closer to him. Kakashi groaned softly into their kiss when Iruka, thankfully, didn't become flustered when he felt Kakashi's erection press into him. The chuunin had actually rocked his hips against Kakashi, sending a jolt of pleasure though both of them.

Kakashi broke their kiss, his breath already becoming heavy. For a moment, he wondered which was affecting him more, the fact that it was _Iruka_ in front of him or that it had been so long since he had been with someone. It only took Kakashi one glimpse of the chuunin's flushed expression to find an answer. Kakashi brought up a hand to cup Iruka's cheek and smiled when Iruka pressed his face into his palm. "Iruka…" Kakashi began softly, bowing his head so that his head rested against Iruka's. The younger man took a deep, shaky breath, as he looked into Kakashi's eyes.

What he found in those orbs made Iruka smile before pecking Kakashi on the cheek. There was no mistaking the glimmer in Kakashi's mismatched eyes as anything _but_ love. Of course, there was a great deal of lust in those eyes, but Iruka knew Kakashi was holding himself back, wanting to know for sure if this was what Iruka wanted. Instead of giving Kakashi a verbal answer to his unasked question, Iruka slid a hand underneath the jounin's shirt and started to remove the article of clothing. Kakashi was so surprised at Iruka's actions that all he could do was raise his arms to aide Iruka in disrobing him. When it finally hit him, Kakashi chuckled and lowered his head so he could nuzzle Iruka's neck.

The chuunin laughed quietly at the scratching sensation of Kakashi's stubbly beard created. He was about to reach start removing his own shirt when Kakashi captured his mouth in a gentle, yet passionate, kiss. Iruka liked the way Kakashi made his heart pound and his entire body shake, but he was also slightly afraid. He knew Kakashi wouldn't purposely hurt him, but he knew first times usually weren't the most pleasurable experiences. Kakashi, sensing Iruka's sudden apprehension, wrapped his arms around Iruka's waist and held him loosely as he deepened the kiss, but forced himself not to become rough with the young man. He knew that one wrong move and he would scare Iruka-probably badly enough that it would take weeks before the teacher would forgive him.

Kakashi was so caught up in trying to calm Iruka down and the chuunin was so intent on doing the same exact thing to himself, they didn't hear the loud noises coming from the other side of Iruka's house until a scream pulled them our of their individual tasks.

"HENTAI! HOW DARE YOU RAPE IRUKA-SENSEI!" Kakashi's ears were ringing so badly, the voice didn't register until he caught a glimpse of neon orange and yellow. Seeing that particular combination of bright colors made Kakashi quickly turn his head as he searched for his mask. Iruka, on the other hand, glared at the person who had dared interrupt them.

"Naruto!" Iruka exclaimed, wishing for once that he had enough sense to lock his doors. The blonde was still pointing at Kakashi, obviously very angry with the silver-haired jounin. Naruto, still in slight shock over what he just saw, looked at Iruka with a perverse grin on his face. _Oh no…how much did he see?_ Iruka wondered as his "little brother" laughed softly, making one _very_ inappropriate gesture that had Iruka blushing furiously.

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei! You better let me see your face now that you've stolen Iruka-sensei's virginity!" That made Iruka splutter as the jounin (having finally found his mask halfway underneath Iruka's behind) dropped the black material, his eyes widening. _Baa…jin…itii…_(A/N: baajinitii-virginity…kay, we'll get back to the story now). Kakashi quickly picked up the mask, sneaking glimpses at Iruka. He couldn't believe that someone like Iruka-who had actually been able to get Kakashi to all but beg-was a virgin. It was impossible! _Naruto just must not have known about Iruka's relationships_, Kakashi decided as he put his mask back on, then finally turned to look at his student, who he was _very_ annoyed with. "Oi, you heard me, hentai!"

Oh, Kakashi heard him alright. The jounin was about to go strangle the blonde annoyance when he felt Iruka's hand brush against his bare arm. He tore his gaze away from his next murder victim to see a smile on Iruka's face. "Maybe you should go, Kakashi…" Iruka said softly, leaning forwards to capture Kakashi's clothed lips in a chaste kiss. The jounin-if Naruto hadn't been there-wouldn't have thought twice about starting back up where they had left off, but what the boy said made Kakashi pull away from Iruka and go pick up his things. If what Naruto said about Iruka was true, then Kakashi would have to think about some things before he let himself get caught up in a heated moment with the sexy chuunin again. If the little brat was just saying it to unnerve Kakashi (which he was _very_ successful in), then Kakashi knew no law against killing fellow shinobi would stop him from exacting revenge on the pain in his ass.

"Ja ne, Iruka," Kakashi said softly before leaving in a poof of smoke. Iruka closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and waited until he was sure the cloud was gone-along with Kakashi's hearing-before turning to glare at Naruto.

"What were you thinking, barging in my house without knocking?" Iruka exclaimed, sliding off the counter. Naruto stared at the island for a moment, then noticeably twitched. Wondering what was going through the deranged child's brain, Iruka walked over to him and gave him a curious glance.

"I'll never be able to eat here again…" Naruto shivered as he whispered that, which made Iruka chuckle in embarrassment. Being walked in on wasn't exactly the way he was expecting to tell Naruto about Kakashi and himself. Then again, it was the quickest way to the point. Naruto couldn't deny that his jounin sensei and "brother" were in a relationship now. "…oi…I never knock, Iruka!" Iruka smiled, knowing that statement was completely true. "And I didn't think you'd be in here sucking face with my teacher!…or molesting the guy when he's half naked!"

The well-known vein in Iruka's temple throbbed slightly as he cuffed Naruto across the back of the head. "Kakashi wasn't half-naked…and I wasn't _molesting _him!" Iruka kept himself from looking Naruto in the eyes, knowing that as soon as he saw the boy's skeptic glance, he would be blushing furiously.

"…he only had a pair of pants on…what do _you_ call that?" Naruto asked curiously, the tone of his voice reminding Iruka so much of Kakashi that he burst out laughing and had to cover his face to stop himself from squealing. "HA! I knew it, you horny bastard! You were sooo getting it on with Kakashi-sensei!" Iruka didn't have to look at Naruto to know the boy was gyrating his hips suggestively. Between the two of them, they new very little about sex, but that must have been one thing Naruto picked up from either one of his perverted teachers-probably Jiraiya-sama.

"I-I was not!" Iruka retorted, trying to save at least a shred of his pride before Naruto really started to mock him. "…I mean, we were talking…and one thing led to another…and…we were…I mean…I…we didn't…" Iruka was making himself uncomfortable trying to explain exactly _why_ he had a half-naked, horny jounin in his kitchen.

Naruto stuck out his tongue and made a gagging sound. "I don't wanna know how you and Kakashi get it on…my poor virgin eyes have already seen enough…" he stated, followed by a screech of 'My eyes, they burn!' before Iruka knocked him in the back of the head again. "But I know one thing, Iruka…heehee…Kakashi-sensei sure is _good_ at that kind of thing, ne?" Iruka blushed furiously, unable to even ask what Naruto meant by that-or how the blonde _knew_ (not that Iruka would ever admit to something like that!). Naruto chuckled, noticing how Iruka reacted. "C'mon, Iruka…I'm not blind…you could probably do some serious damage with that _thing_." Iruka only needed the blonde to glance _once_ down at his uncomfortably tight pants before he lost it and squealed.

"What the hell was I thinking!"

"…you weren't," Naruto supplied, taking Iruka by the hand and guiding his "brother" to the couch, where he hoped Iruka and Kakashi hadn't done anything. Iruka sat down and moaned as he buried his head into his hands. "Hormones do weird stuff to people…I was gonna come over and tell you about this dream I had last night…but I just…to see my dreams being acted out…by…you and Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto involuntarily shivered at the remembrance of that.

"Kami-sama…I was about to let Kakashi fuck me…" Iruka groaned into his hands, remembering the amazing array of sensations and emotions he had felt as he did _those _things with Kakashi. He had never even had a wet dream in his life, let alone an encounter like today…hell, Iruka had never even experienced an erection before today and he was about to lose his virginity without a second thought. It wasn't Iruka's fault, he hadn't been able to stop himself from touching Kakashi and being affected by _his_ touches.

"…from where I was standing…Kakashi-sensei looked like he would have let _you_ fuck _him_ if it meant you would keep going…" Naruto commented. The fact Iruka could hear he wasn't lying made him pull his head out of his hands and look at the boy curiously. "Come on…Kakashi-sensei was all but _begging_ for you…I think he's seriously smitten…"

Iruka blushed furiously at that comment, but couldn't deny it. He had seen it in Kakashi's eyes, but the way Kakashi had left so suddenly, with a confused (and slightly disturbed) look on his face, made Iruka doubt exactly _what_ he had seen. Maybe Naruto was right and it was just their hormones. Iruka suddenly began wondering if _Kakashi_, the infamous Copy-Cat Nin, the one man said to be even more emotionless than most missing nin, was even _capable _of love. It was very optimistic of Iruka to even think that Kakashi saw him as something more than a quick lay. He inwardly shook his head at such thoughts. If nothing else, he was a friend to Kakashi and that, in Iruka's mind, was proof enough that the man was able to _care_. It wasn't love, but it was something.

"I…I guess you're right," Iruka admitted softly, smiling gently as he stared down at his hands that, only moments ago, were touching one of the most unobtainable shinobi in their village-and Kakashi was loving it, even if Iruka was starting to create false reasons to doubt it. "Why don't you tell me about your dream?" Naruto blushed, remembering the reason he had actually come over in the first place.

"After seeing that, my dream doesn't even compare…jeez, I was just thinking about taking a shower with Sasuke…and…well…one thing_ led_ to another…" Naruto said slyly, using Iruka's earlier statement to mock the older shinobi. Iruka glared at him for a moment, then sighed, pulling Naruto down onto the couch with him. The boy quickly got comfortable next to Iruka and chuckled when Iruka shifted awkwardly, attempting to hide the fact that Kakashi was still affecting him long after the jounin left.

"What are we going to do about this, Naruto?" Iruka asked, smacking the boy against the head when he saw the lecherous glint in the blonde's eyes. "Not _that_…I meant Kakashi and my relationship…"

"Well…he _did_ leave kinda rudely," Naruto pointed out, making Iruka look at the boy with a smirk. The tone of Naruto's voice screamed that the boy wanted to know a few details. "Come on, Iruka-nii…you have to tell me all the details…what does he look like under the mask! Is he a good kisser? What about his…you know…?" Iruka let out a snort at the boy's questions.

"…I've never kissed anyone else…but I think he's a good kisser…and he's…um…" Iruka didn't exactly have much to compare Kakashi to-except, pretty much, himself in that area. With a smirk, Iruka realized he was the bigger of the two. _Hehe…beat that, Kakashi!_ Iruka thought for a moment before getting a terrible idea. "Naruto-kun…I have been thinking of a prank…and I'm going to need your help for it…"

"…a prank…you mean…a _big_ one?…" Naruto asked, his voice filled with suspicion. Iruka never told him when he was pulling a prank, unless it was something that probably could get them both kicked out of the village if people knew it was them. The time they changed the Sandaime's entire Hokage outfit to a shockingly…revealing leather outfit was their best combined efforts to date. The poor old man hadn't seen it coming…neither did everyone else in the village at that assembly. Naruto smiled evilly, wondering what Iruka had thought up of this time.

"Kakashi needs to learn a lesson…and I _think_…you should find out what he looks like under the mask…" Iruka said suggestively, covering up a grin with his hand. "…he can't know I had _anything_ to do with it, alright?" Naruto raised his hand up and saluted Iruka with a 'yosh!' "One more thing…I think it would be particularly _interesting_ if your teammates could find out what's under the mask too…"

"Oh ho, you are one _terrible_ man, Iruka-_sensei_," Naruto squealed, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. "…but that icy bastard probably won't help me…and if he doesn't help…neither will Sakura-chan…" Naruto raised an eyebrow at the corrupting grin on Iruka's face. "But…"

"…_thick lips_…" Iruka whispered from behind his hand. Naruto's ears pricked up and he caught his sensei's line of thinking. The boy's eyes thinned as he began thinking of wicked ideas to mess with the Uchiha's mind.

"…or buckteeth…" Naruto added, making the pair shiver in the sheer deviousness of their plot. Iruka chuckled, wondering if this was what everyone thought Kakashi hid with his mask. "…or…a pointy mouth…Iruka-sensei! Tell meeeeeeeee!" Naruto glomped the poor, unsuspecting teacher and wailed for Iruka to tell him what Kakashi looked like.

"Look, Naruto…if you see Kakashi without his mask on…I'll tell you_ everything_ you could ever want to know, kay?" The boy was incredulous, but definitely interested in Iruka's proposal. He had been asking Iruka for years how the chuunin had been able to pull off some of his more notorious pranks and, if he couldproclaim he saw Kakashi's face, that meant Iruka would divulge the information. Just to make the boy even more eager to accept, Iruka forced himself to blush and smile slyly. "…under that mask…Kakashi is…" Iruka let out a high-pitched squeal and covered his face with his hands. For the first time in his life, Iruka was glad he had taught himself how to blush on command (now, the trick was to force himself _not_ to blush all the time). Naruto gasped loudly, then jumped off the couch, rubbing his hands together thoughtfully. Iruka didn't even want to guess what was going through the blonde's mind at that moment to get him to grin like that.

"Oi, Iruka-sensei…your flashlight is still under the sink, right?" Naruto asked and started walking to the sink to search for the light before Iruka had the chance to answer. Iruka sighed as he sat back and watched Naruto pull out the flashlight, then bound out of the house with a 'sankyuu, Iruka-sensei!'

_Ha…not only do I get Kakashi tricked…but those three as well. _Iruka smirked to himself. It was a foolproof plan. Kakashi would have to be worrying about three of the most talented genin following him at all times to catch a glimpse of his face and 'innocent Iruka' would mention that Naruto had wanted to see Kakashi's face and for Kakashi to start wearing two masks so that, when the three get fed up with covert operations and just ask Kakashi outright, the man would reveal a second mask underneath the first. Poor Naruto would be devastated, but that's what he deserved for walking in on Iruka and Kakashi…and as for the perverted jounin…Iruka might be able to spring a few more pranks on him while all his attention is on his three students.

Iruka suddenly couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Authoress: Okay, eighteen pages…that's my limit for today…so…what did everyone think about the 'first kiss'/squeals/ they were going at it! I have to admit...that was one hell of a kiss, Kakashi...

Kakashi:…you sick woman…

Authoress: I know…I'm terrible…but…I had to write it…but, just as a warning….things aren't as simple as they seem (yep…there **_will_** be a little angst coming up soon …sorry if I ruined the surprise…but I don't want anyone thinking that things just happened too perfectly and quick…hehe…)

Iruka:…you pulled my prank dealing with Naruto and Kakashi from episode 101 of the anime…

Authoress: why, yes I did…and I love that eppie…it's one of my favorites…and next chapter, we might be following along it to see what Kakashi thinks about all this…and get his ideas on that 'moment' with Iruka…as he's being trailed by three curious genin…so…until next chapter…/eyes widen/ how do I now have nineteen pages!…anyways…sayonara and arigatou for reviewing (hopefully)

**LB**: Yay! Episode 101 is my favorite! I can't wait!

Authoress: and, once again, I want to thank **the LB** for beta-ing this chapter (and for her suggestions for some revisions so all of you, my wonderful reviewers, wouldn't be as confused as she was at some certain points...AKA...the kappa in a puddle bit...).../smiles innocently/ maa...until next chapter...ja ne!


	7. Just Friends

Authoress: Yosh! I'm already back with chapter seven of "Underneath The Scars"! I didn't think we'd be getting so far so soon, but I was amazed when, in under a week, I've gotten almost twenty reviews for this story…so I must continue!…but, I want to make an announcement early on (in case there is a surge of reviewers for this story soon)…I will be rewarding my one hundredth reviewer! I am (so far) at 73 reviews…but I'm hoping that number will start going up quickly since this story is becoming more popular! YOSH!…so, anyways…when I finally get close to the hundred reviews, I'll remind everyone…but if you are my one hundredth reviewer, make sure you give me your e-mail address (or if you're a FFN member, then I'll just send you a message or something…). I'll write a **story of a pairing of your choosing **(from the characters of Naruto…because I'm on that kick right now…), but it can be _any_ couple…I can do anybody (that means Yaoi, Yuri, or Hetero…doesn't make a difference to me…just as long as my reviewers are happy!)…just, I beg of you…don't make me do Gai and Lee…there's just too much spandex there for one pairing…Gai and someone else, I'm fine with…or Lee and somebody…I'd love to do a story on him! So, before my rant takes up a page in itself…I'll hush up and let you all read the next chapter of "Underneath The Scars"…please sit back and enjoy the disclaimer!

Tina-chan: Good chappie, but the end… T.T Oh well, you guys will enjoy it! -smile-

LB-chan: Wow, I can't believe it !That could have been...no mistakes/confetti/

Authoress: she's a very happy beta reader.../smiles happily/

Disclaimer: …okay…I don't own Naruto…never will…all of the Yaoi-fanatics of the world should cry over that small fact!

Chapter Seven

Iruka slipped out of his house, his face twisted into a secretive grin as he closed the door and left it unlocked, since he expected Naruto to go flying into his house sometime today-probably while he was gone. The chuunin chuckled to himself as he pushed chakra into his feet and began sprinting across the village in order to reach the academy before Ebisu did. No matter what, Iruka would never let that jounin win their undeclared contest of who was the earlier riser. Iruka had only been "late" one day-the one day Kakashi had called in sick for him, but, with a blush coming to his face, Iruka guessed he could forgive the pervert this _one_ time…just because he was so sweet.

Iruka hadn't been able to sleep much last night, his agitated mind replaying his afternoon yesterday with Kakashi. He hadn't known that something as minor as a kiss could do things like _that_ to him…and the jounin. Ever since he had become a friend of Kakashi, the jounin troupe had started to come to him, complaining about Kakashi's lack of interest in everything-as if he could help them with the man! With a chuckle, Iruka remembered all the times Kurenai had waited until all missions were handed out before she would flop down on his desk in the missions office, groaning about how Kakashi doesn't understand the complicated details that are generally associated with relationships.

Yesterday, Iruka would have wondered why she had gone to _him_ to complain, but now, that same conversation that the kunoichi keeps bringing up at every possible moment made the chuunin blush a bright crimson as he jumped up onto a roof to continue his jog to the academy.

She had said Kakashi always mocked the delicate structure of her and Asuma's relationship that_ was _supposed to be a secret, but had become the talk of the mission room when Kakashi had made the mistake of asking Asuma if he'd mind being a little more _quiet_ when he had Kurenai over next time-and the ruler of the gossip vine, AKA Ibiki, had 'accidentally' overheard. Within half an hour, every shinobi above genin ranking had congratulated Kurenai and Asuma on finally getting together after years of pussyfooting around the issue.

For a while, Iruka wondered why Kakashi had asked that particular question, but found out one day that the two men lived in the same apartment complex. That small fact explained a great deal about the seemingly hate-filled relations between the two jounin. The chuunin sighed, wondering why it was that shinobi had to make their lives increasingly difficult by trying to hide details of their lives when they knew that _eventually_ it would be found out. Most likely by Ibiki, since no one could lie to him if he were to ask you a question. Iruka had tried once, a few weeks ago, when the man had finally decided to get the truth about Iruka and Kakashi's relationship out into the open. Thank Kami-sama he hadn't waited until today to ask, or else Iruka would have found himself either A. flowered in congratulations and well wishes from his fan-club and the entire jounin community or B. killed for not revealing what Kakashi looked like under the mask the second he saw the silver-haired pervert removed his notorious black article of clothing.

Iruka was, for the first time in months, counting his blessings of deciding not to become a jounin. He would have had to deal with Ibiki all the time if he had. _I don't even think, with all of my patience, that I could stand it…I wonder how Kakashi does it…_Iruka thought to himself, his face erupting in a new blush as he thought about the jounin that had occupied his thoughts all night.

Kakashi-the man everyone else made him out to be-was a deadly jounin who was infamous for his lack of interest, procrastination, hatred of deadlines and being somewhere on time, as well as his continuous reading of porn novels. From those rumors, Iruka would have thought the man would be unapproachable-a frightening enigma with either a terrible temper or an indifferent disposition that would annoy people. It almost made Iruka laugh to know how truly different Kakashi really was. The man was a caring, sweet person who always put others' needs before his own. He had a fierce sense of loyalty to those he was close to, but usually hid it with a mask of disinterest. He was, truthfully, a very curious person, but he gained information through sneaking about and making himself into one of those people who, if you didn't consciously reminded yourself he was there, you'd forget he was even in the same room and slip into a false sense of privacy. Kakashi was also someone who was very easy to talk to-when he was comfortable enough to actually_ talk_ instead of just nodding his head or 'smiling' with his visible eye. He had an aura around him that just made people relaxed, even though everyone knew he was one of the best assassins Konoha had ever had.

The jounin was also a tender person. He was gentle and thoughtful when it came to Iruka, always making sure that Iruka felt well enough to have company every night he had off and wanted to come visit. If Iruka was tired or had a headache, the man would put on a pot of water without even listening to Iruka's half-hearted protests, then send Iruka off to bed with his cup of tea. As of late, Kakashi had been growing more and more precognitive when it concerned Iruka. Most days, Iruka could walk into his house and smell that his cup of tea was already steeping, a bowl of hot ramen waiting at the kitchen table for him, and (on one particularly hellish day-kunai throwing practice…) Iruka had come home to the sound of a hot bath being run and Kakashi cursing colorfully (which the man also did, but very few people knew of) as he attempted to cook. That was one thing Iruka loved about Kakashi-he tried so hard to make Iruka happy that he had even begun taking up cooking (thankfully Iruka had gotten home early enough on those days to stop the jounin from burning the house down) and had forsaken his beloved Icha Icha novels so that they could spend time in each others' company.

And, up until yesterday, Iruka didn't think it was anything more than the jounin being friendly. But, as the hints of a frown came to Iruka's face, he remembered how confused Kakashi was as he left. Maybe the jounin had been caught up in the moment yesterday or never realized his feelings before then, but, whatever the reasoning behind Kakashi's formal goodbye, Iruka knew it had a great deal to do with the fact they had kissed. And what a kiss it was.

Iruka didn't regret it in the least. In fact, he hoped that he and Kakashi could do it again, but, perhaps not as hurriedly. He had nearly stripped his friend before Naruto had came and saved them from whatever they might have done otherwise. It had never been like that before with Kakashi-that Iruka was so drawn to him, but, then again, he had never been held and touched by Kakashi like that before. He had never had the jounin kiss him and make him feel so many different emotions and sensations that Iruka could hardly think straight-which, in all actuality, he wasn't doing anyways. Iruka rethought his earlier ideas about why Kakashi had left so abruptly, with a 'ja ne' and nothing else. Their last kiss yesterday was a completely innocent one-Iruka's farewell to the jounin. But Kakashi had done nothing, not a return of the chaste kiss, not a acknowledgment of the fact he had just been making out with Iruka, _nothing. _Hell, Iruka would have been content if Kakashi had simply _hugged _him goodbye. A small part of Iruka scoffed at that thought. His entire body had been yearning that Kakashi would have returned after Naruto finally left, to pick up where they had left off. But, maybe it was better this way, to give them some breathing room and time to think things over before they got themselves into a serious relationship.

Iruka knew that he wouldn't mind if Kakashi ended up to be his first lover (and, maybe, last, if the jounin returned his feelings), but it was completely up to the silver-haired pervert as to where they went from here. A small part of Iruka sadly acknowledged the reality that it hadn't meant anything to Kakashi-that it was just a moment…a mistake. And, admitting that to himself _hurt_ more than Iruka had thought possible. It had been months since he and Kakashi had grown from enemies to people the other could barely stand…to comrades, then to friends. But _now_? Everything had changed within one afternoon and Iruka knew nothing could go back to what it used to be, at least, not for him.

--now, onto Kakashi's side of things!--

Kakashi's stomach growled as he walked down the crowded village streets. Maybe it was time he went grocery shopping, since he had, literally, nothing left in his pantry. That realization came to him this morning when he woke up. That was why he was currently roaming around the village with his hands stuck in his pockets, trying to decide on where to eat. He heaved a deep breath, wishing that he could go ambling over to Iruka's and get a bite to eat-the chuunin always had food hanging around. Since it was a Sunday, there weren't any academy classes and Iruka's training with Gai didn't start until the afternoon, when the man had finished missions and/or training with his own genin team. Kakashi let out another sigh, knowing that it would be the perfect opportunity to visit Iruka…if it was any _other _day. But, as things were between them, he didn't think that would be the best of things for him to do.

"Kakashi-sensei!" The jounin spun around and was immediately wondering if he had scheduled a practice he had forgotten about when he saw the three faces of his genin team. Naruto looked positively devious, Sakura had a cheery grin on her face, and Sasuke…well, Sasuke had actually gained some control in the muscles in his face and was smirking. It made Kakashi feel extremely on edge, knowing that the three coming up to him, without Naruto bleeding, bruised, or otherwise injured, Sasuke actually voluntarily being there, and Sakura in a good mood with Naruto around was a certain prediction for the end of the world. As he watched Sasuke actually gain a _pleasant_ smirk, he knew it. Hell had already begun to freeze over.

"…maa?" He knew something was up, but _what_? The three were so diverse from each other that it must have taken something important to get them to work together, even for these few seconds. And for Sasuke to look _happy_. This had to be something very big. Maybe they finally discovered what jutsu Tsunade-sama used on her overly massive chest…or where Jiraiya-sama was hiding so Kakashi could finally get his idol's autograph…or they realized that Naruto had connections with Iruka…who just happened to be stripping Kakashi yesterday when the blonde loudmouth had walked in and interrupted Kakashi in the middle of his ravishing. A small part of the jounin was glad the boy did come in when he did, though…or else things might have gotten messy between Iruka and himself.

"…we…were going to go out to lunch…at Ichiraku's…and we were looking for you to see if you wanted to come!" Sakura said cheerily…so warmly that Kakashi eyed her for a moment, wishing he could use the Sharingan to read her mind before Jiraiya found a new hiding spot.

"…Ramen?…" Kakashi thought it over for a moment. He smiled and nodded his head. It couldn't hurt; watching his three students to see what they were up to…and what they knew while getting his long-anticipated meal. What better way to spy on the three children than to actually be asked into their company? Now, how to find out how much Sakura and Sasuke knew about him and Iruka?

"Ramen! Ramen!" Naruto started chanting his favorite food's name, grabbing Sasuke and Sakura by the wrists in order to drag his teammates towards the ramen stand. For a moment, Kakashi wondered if the boy had a radar or something to be able to know exactly what direction to go in in order to get to Ichiraku's. Kakashi followed behind his team, an eyebrow raising when Naruto glanced back at him every now and again and smirked knowingly.

_That little brat…he's toying with me…ooh, I should tell Iruka on him!_ Kakashi thought with an inward snort. The man would love to know that his favorite blonde was playing tricks on his teacher. His momentary mirth diminished when Kakashi remembered why he had actually agreed to go to lunch with the group. He couldn't go to Iruka's…that would mean he'd have to confront Iruka. Kakashi wasn't afraid of much, but…not knowing exactly _what_ to do in a situation was one of those things that made him shiver. He had strategies for battles, for treaties, even for his genin team and all of their unique quirks, but he didn't know how to handle _one _brunette chuunin.

If he went there, it meant that he'd have to admit to the man what he was to Iruka and, quite truthfully, Kakashi wasn't even sure of it himself. He had kissed the young man. With anyone else, he probably would forget about it in a matter of minutes, unless it had gone beyond that kiss and he spent a week or so sharing their bed, then it would take _maybe_ a day to forget them. But Iruka? He was hesitant to confess it to himself, but he didn't_ want_ to forget how it felt to hold Iruka, to touch him, to have Iruka's hands on him, to kiss the teacher. No one else had ever affected him like that, not even the best bed partners he had ever had-and some of them were _legendary_ for the amount of pleasure they could give.

But Iruka was different. He hadn't touched Kakashi as intimately as some people had, but, in a way, he had been closer to Kakashi than anyone else could have imagined possible. He _knew_ Kakashi-he had seen him for who he really was…_all_ of the man and he still could laugh at the few jokes Kakashi made…he could still kiss Kakashi without any reservation. He could touch the man without feeling repulsed or fearful, like some of Kakashi's interests.

But, what really made the chuunin different was that he had been a _friend_-a true friend-before they had become whatever they were _now_. Anko, Kurenai, Asuma, Ibiki, Genma, Raido…even Gai and Ebisu…at one point or another, Kakashi had shared a bed with all of them, but he had gotten to know them afterwards and those few sweaty, amazing moments had been all but forgotten over the years, replaced by a lasting (if not somewhat sadistic) friendship. Iruka, though, knew Kakashi for who he was seen as by others…and who he really was. And it was slightly frightening to know that Iruka could divulge that information to all of Kakashi's other 'friends' and the jounin group would never let Kakashi live it down…that he had become close enough to someone for them to actually hurt him.

_Maybe that's why I never have lasting relationships…_Kakashi wondered as an afterthought. He never let people get to know him, since as soon as they did, he was sure they would just leave and it would hurt more than if they kept each other at a distance, just sharing in the pleasure they used each other for. But Kakashi didn't want to use Iruka…for anything. The tingling of Iruka's goodbye kiss still lingered on Kakashi's lips-even after a whole night of sitting up and thinking over what had happened. The man had affected him like no one else could ever have done…but Naruto had said something that had gotten Kakashi's mind positively terrified.

_Virginity_. If Naruto was right and Iruka was a virgin…it meant even more if Kakashi let this relationship to continue. People usually held some lasting memory of their 'first,' and usually some feelings for them that would never die or diminish. Kakashi knew that his feelings for Obito would never go away, but he didn't want to forget how it had been at one time-to be able to care about someone to such a degree…that he cried when his best friend…his lover had died. He didn't want that to happen to Iruka. If he slept with Iruka, the man might develop feelings for him…and _care_ about Kakashi. The jounin didn't delude himself with the ideas that he would never die-that he would one day be able to retire and live out the rest of his natural life with someone who could _stand_ him…not love, because in order to love, you have to feel…you have to _care_. If Kakashi kept himself an arms length from everyone-even Iruka-it meant no one would mourn his passing when he ran out of strategies…when he was too late dodging a kunai…when he came up against an opponent that he had no chance of defeating…or maybe, to sacrifice his life to save his comrades-or his genin team. If it came to that, Kakashi didn't want people to cry, especially the brunette chuunin who had somehow come to mean so much to him.

Kakashi was so caught up in his own thoughts, he hadn't realized it until he was walking down the street with paper bags in his arm that he had actually already eaten lunch with his team and had left them to go grocery shopping. The jounin inwardly cursed, wishing that he hadn't developed the ability to _live_ without actually having to pay any attention to what happened around him. He answered people when they asked questions, he made jokes, he even hummed to himself…but he didn't make it a conscious thought to do such things…which left him a great deal of time to antagonize over his developing problem with the chuunin.

Kakashi turned his head to the side, wondering what road he was on, but froze when he found himself outside his favorite bookstore, which specialized in romance novels. Having to keep up with his pretenses, since he immediately sensed his three genin students on top of a nearby building watching him, he threw the bag of groceries to the ground and went to search for any new books. Sadly, they hadn't gotten any new ones since yesterday. Kakashi's inner-pervert senses tingled for a moment and he spun around and found the one thing that immediately brightened his spirits.

"Movie!" Kakashi stared at the gigantic poster that had 'Icha Icha Violence' written across it. He smirked evilly, thinking that he could probably get Ebisu or Asuma to go with him (those two closet perverts loved Jiraiya's works as much as he did). "I'm going to go reserve a ticket!" he exclaimed, loud enough that his spying students had heard him. Maybe that little pervert Naruto would think Kakashi was going to take Iruka…and would stop the blonde from asking Kakashi any questions on how _serious_ their relationship was. Movies meant dating in public…a serious change in their friendship. Kakashi wouldn't have known how to answer if Naruto had actually had the mind to ask him exactly what he was _doing_ with Iruka. With that thought in mind, Kakashi sped down the road, quickly using a transportation jutsu to go pick up his groceries and have enough time to sneak up back behind the three genin, who were still wondering where he could have gone off to. "What are you guys doing? Do you have business with me?" he asked, noticing how they all jumped as soon as they heard his voice.

"Not really," the three replied in unison, shaking their heads violently. They appeared very nervous…so they obviously were up to something and Kakashi couldn't help but be curious. _Hmm…interesting…I wonder what Naruto's gotten them to agree on now…probably to stalk me for some sick reason…well…I'll just have to play along since I have nothing else interesting to do today…_Kakashi decided as he watched them turn around, their faces a mixture of fear and total apprehension. It was actually kind of funny to see Sasuke so…un-Sasuke-ish and sweating as he looked at Kakashi with evident fear in his eyes…just like his two teammates. _Maybe they're finally starting to get together…yo kata….either that…or all of them are loosing their minds…_

Later that day, he found himself followed by Naruto and simply jumped up to one of the roofs in order to evade him. Sakura, on the other hand, was a little harder to trick. He had to actually do something to get away from her, but all he did was use a kawarimi no jutsu. It was Sasuke that was the hardest to avoid. The brat could see though his ninjutsu and genjutsu…which meant he would actually have to outdo the Uchiha.

Thankfully for Kakashi, he knew exactly what he could do. He confronted the boy-much to Sasuke's surprise and demanded to know what was going on with him and his teammates, telling him that he had known they were following him all day and that it was starting to get annoying.

"…I have no idea what you're talking about…" was Sasuke's only answer. So, when Kakashi entered one of the more…revealing bars about half an hour later and Sasuke had actually followed him in, he wasn't surprised when he saw Sasuke leaving within two minutes, his face the brightest crimson Kakashi had ever seen. It made him snicker to know he had a future pervert on his hands. He spent the rest of the day in the bar, hoping that the alcohol-if not the amazing view-would help him figure out what to do with Iruka.

--alright…we'll stay with Kakashi for a while…--

Staring at the door, Kakashi felt his heartbeat quicken slightly. He had never been so afraid of an inanimate object before in his entire life-at least not ones that didn't hold the capability of killing him if it collided with certain parts of his body as they sped towards him. But even flying, sharpened objects never made him quiver slightly at the mere_ thought _of what they could do. He slowly went to knock a shaking hand on the piece of wood, each _bang_ echoing even more loudly in Kakashi's head than his own heartbeat. It was almost foreboding in the way he was apprehensive to even _knock_…when he usually just barged into the large apartment. Hours of thought hadn't given Kakashi any insight on his situation, but he wasn't an evil enough bastard to not do _anything_. So, here he stood, knocking at Iruka's door at an unholy hour, as he experienced his first anxiety attack since he hit puberty.

Kakashi sighed, bowing his head so that his covered forehead hit the door with a soft _clink_. It was dark out and, from the position of the waxing moon, it had to be around three or four in the morning. Iruka was asleep and probably wouldn't be woken up by his knocking, but the man couldn't help but dream. Kakashi didn't want Iruka to think he had _forgotten_ about him-or had just ignored what had happened yesterday, but the man would have fallen asleep hours ago no matter what Iruka thought of him. The man could have fallen asleep in the middle of Armageddon without even batting an eye…and the world's end wouldn't even make Iruka turn over in his sleep. For someone who was so sensitive to other people, their actions, and their emotions, Iruka was like a rock when he fell asleep. If he wasn't already nervous to break out into a cold sweat, Kakashi would have probably laughed at that idiosyncrasy.

"Kakashi?" The jounin's head snapped up, realizing that he had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed the door had been opened and a very exhausted-looking chuunin was trying to glare at him as he rubbed his tired eyes. The silver-haired pervert quickly noticed Iruka was in his usual night clothes, his hair pulled back into a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck, and free strands of that dark hair were sticking up in odd directions or being tucked behind an ear as Iruka's gaze shifted around, evidently wondering why Kakashi was standing on his doorstep at three in the morning, slamming his head into the wooden door like it would bring some revelation to the otherwise dumbfounded jounin. Kakashi chuckled softly, realizing what an idiot he must have looked like from Iruka's point of view. Rubbing the back of his head, he felt a pang of regret at (obviously) waking up the chuunin at such an odd hour.

"…Iruka…gomen…I-I didn't mean to wake you up…" Kakashi said, his voice cracking from anxiety over standing in front of the man who had been plaguing his thoughts relentlessly for the past two days. Iruka, on the other hand, didn't look nervous in the least-just a little grumpy and tired.

"…you didn't…I couldn't sleep," Iruka replied gruffly. Kakashi winced slightly at the man's tone, but put on a smirk before Iruka caught his original reaction. With a sigh, Iruka leaned against the doorframe and watched as Kakashi nervously glanced around, the jounin's eyes never meeting his. "What are you doing here, Kakashi?"

"…I don't know…" Kakashi replied cheerfully. Iruka's eyes narrowed as he started closing the door in the man's face, but stopped when he heard Kakashi let out a whimper-the man's way of telling Iruka that he didn't mean that. "…I…wanted to apologize for yesterday…"

That had gotten Iruka to freeze, his eyes snapping up to look at Kakashi's face for some indication of _what _the man was sorry for. But nothing in Kakashi's half-hidden face gave Iruka any clues, except for that single dark eye as their gazes met. Kakashi was actually sorry about _something_-but Iruka couldn't tell what else Kakashi was feeling from his eye.

"It…I mean…you don't have to apologize…" Iruka said softly with a huff. If nothing else, he would hide the fact Kakashi's apology had stung. It was as if Kakashi had admitted what they had done was wrong…a mistake. Iruka furrowed his eyebrows, letting his eyes drop down to the ground underneath Kakashi's feet as he waited for the jounin to either say something or leave.

"…maa…I shouldn't have left so…" Kakashi trailed off, not sure how he should classify his farewell. Heartless? Impolite? That was the only thing Kakashi had figured out in his entire day of thinking…that he had been rude to leave Iruka without so much as a smile. From the faint blush that came to Iruka's cheeks at his comment, the jounin guessed that that had been something that miffed Iruka yesterday.

Iruka smiled and a small part of him sighed in relief. Kakashi wasn't apologizing for what happened, but how he had left. Iruka stood up straight and knew, from the raised eyebrow he got from Kakashi, that his smile must have been more than just friendly looking in the pervert's eyes. That made Iruka blush even more.

"…do you…want to come in?" Iruka asked hesitantly, moving out from in front of the door before Kakashi had even gotten a chance to offer a reply. The jounin smirked underneath his mask, his dirty mind already thinking up of all new things he could do to Iruka while they were _inside. _If Iruka hadn't had extended an invitation to go indoors, Kakashi knew that the chuunin's neighbors probably would have gotten some show in the next few minutes. Just seeing that seductive smile on Iruka's face had gotten Kakashi's hands to tremble at the thought of touching him again-and he could hardly contain himself from molesting Iruka right in front of his front door.

The thought of refusing Iruka's proposal hadn't even crossed Kakashi's mind as he docilely followed Iruka into the house, taking off his sandals as he continued to watch Iruka as the chuunin sauntered into his living room with Kakashi at his heels. They sat down on the couch-which suddenly seemed too small as Iruka struggled to sit as far away from Kakashi as possible. He wanted to _talk_…before they did anything, but, from the smirk he could see under Kakashi's mask, he knew the jounin was thinking of the exact same thing-but in the opposite order.

"…Kakashi…could we _talk_?" Iruka asked softly, turning his head so that he wouldn't have to look at Kakashi's face as the jounin 'accidentally' slid closer to Iruka with every passing second. Iruka didn't hear an answer out of the man-or look up-until he felt something brush lightly against his outer thigh. His gaze traveled to his leg and turned a crimson when he saw Kakashi's hand resting there.

"…about what?" Kakashi asked innocently as his 'disobedient' hand moved up the chuunin's leg until he heard Iruka squeak. He was surprised how far Iruka had let his hand go, considering how little Kakashi had touched him yesterday, but the jounin had never met someone who had been able to resist him for long. And the only thing he was sure of at this moment was that he wanted Iruka. He wanted the man's hands on _him_, not folded neatly across his lap. He wanted to make Iruka breathless with kisses and, maybe, more. He hadn't actually desired someone like _this_ in years-so he wasn't exactly being shy in informing Iruka exactly what he was thinking about.

"Kakashi!" Iruka squealed as he wrapped his hands around the man's wrist and tried to pry it away from his upper thigh, but only succeeded in moving Kakashi's hand to his _inner_ thigh, which, the jounin realized with a smirk, was a very sensitive spot on Iruka. The brunette gasped softly when he felt Kakashi's hand brush against his clothed leg and a small part of him wondered what it would feel like to be touched without the layers of cloth separating Kakashi's hand and his skin.

"Maa…" Kakashi chuckled, shifting so he was facing Iruka and could see the young man was blushing over _something _he had thought about. He used Iruka's moment of unawareness to shift his hand to Iruka's waist as he used the other to cup Iruka's cheek. For a moment, Iruka felt like pouting when he felt Kakashi's hand move, but when he looked up and found Kakashi looking at him curiously, he froze. The jounin took his chances and brushed his masked lips against Iruka's.

Iruka was slightly surprised when Kakashi kissed him so chastely since he could see the lust in Kakashi's visible eye. The thought of Kakashi wanting _him_ made Iruka's stomach flip, his entire body shivering somewhat as he remembered how it felt yesterday after Kakashi had kissed him in the same manner. Things had nearly gotten out of hand then-and this time, Iruka knew Naruto wouldn't come barging in. The boy was peacefully sleeping through the night in his own warm bed while Iruka had to deal with a developing case of insomnia, then having the source of the thoughts that brought about his sleeplessness stop by for an early morning visit…and now, that same cause was going to probably either leave (highly unlikely) or give Iruka a new reason to be loosing sleep. And by 'loosing sleep,' Iruka knew it didn't have _anything _to do with a restless mind.

Kakashi could see the hesitation in Iruka's eyes, so he quickly pulled back, wondering if Iruka had regretted yesterday. If so, the persistent jounin would just have to work harder to make Iruka his. "Iru-"

"…Daijoubu, Kakashi…" Iruka said softly, bringing his lips to meet Kakashi's in a second innocent kiss. The silver-haired pervert smiled, ignoring his conscience as he tightened his grip around Iruka's waist and, in one swift movement, pulled Iruka into his lap. Kakashi hadn't meant to pull Iruka so close to his body that the man was balanced on top of his groin, putting pressure on the one part of Kakashi's body that really could have done without the unintentional weight. Iruka's face turned a bright pink when he heard Kakashi groan faintly, his lower body unconsciously shifting slightly when he realized exactly _why_ the man had let out that particular vocalization. That only made things worse, Iruka found out when the jounin increased his hold on Iruka's middle, making it impossible for the chuunin to move-either against or away from Kakashi's warm body.

"…Iruka…don't…" Kakashi managed to get out, surprising both himself and Iruka with how needy his voice had sounded. He wasn't one for willpower when it came to things like _this_ and Kakashi knew that if he allowed Iruka to continue moving (however accidental those motions were) on top of him, he wouldn't be able to stop from doing certain things to the chuunin that even got Kakashi's face to turn a few vibrant shades.

"…Kakashi…I don't…I mean…" Iruka was silenced with a kiss planted on his nose. The chuunin pouted at how Kakashi had the ability to make him speechless with the smallest of actions, but quickly forgave the man underneath him when Kakashi started nuzzling his exposed neck-which was littered in Kakashi's 'affections' from yesterday. Thankfully the chuunin vest covered up his neck quite well. Without anything on his body but a threadbare pair of walrus pants and a white t-shirt, Kakashi could admire his handiwork as he let his head rest in the junction of Iruka's slim neck.

"…I won't do anything, Iruka…" Kakashi said softly, knowing exactly what had caused Iruka's sudden stuttering protest. He kept his head on Iruka as he gently traced the outline of the muscles in Iruka's back that had relaxed slightly with the jounin's comment. Iruka huffed softly, glad he wouldn't have to bring up the topic while he sat on the exact thing he wanted to discuss-well, what the contents of his planned discussion had to deal with. But all it took was a little statement out of Kakashi and Iruka felt much safer in the jounin's arms.

Iruka knew Kakashi well enough to believe the man's words and relaxed into Kakashi's embrace, bringing his arms up to wind his fingers into Kakashi's spiky hair. The jounin sighed appreciatively, making Iruka chuckle softly as he ran his hands through the silky locks. Iruka smiled, noticing how Kakashi shifted his head every now and again so Iruka would touch certain points on his head. The jounin never let people know it, but he loved having his hair touched-it just felt so amazing, he found himself almost purring into Iruka's neck as he drifted into a sleep-like state, his mind still alert, but his body was no longer under his control. He reflexively moved so Iruka would get the hint and not stop touching him, but, other than that, Kakashi was content with just having the shorter man sitting there, his body shivering every now and again when Iruka hit a particularly sensitive spot on his scalp.

"You're reminding me of a cat, Kakashi," Iruka said jokingly, craning his neck so he could rest his head on top of Kakashi's. The jounin chuckled softly into Iruka's neck, snapping out of his restful moment, then pulled away from Iruka.

"…how so?" People have called him a scarecrow, a dog, a slug…but not a cat. That was a new description for Kakashi-but not entirely unpleasant, the jounin decided as he watched Iruka smile sheepishly. Obviously the chuunin hadn't meant to say that aloud.

"…smart, loyal…affectionate…_clingy_…" Iruka added the last word when he felt Kakashi tighten his arms around Iruka, bringing the jounin's face close enough to Iruka's that the brunette could see Kakashi was enjoying every minute of Iruka's flustered state.

"…maa, I'm not clingy…you're just a very good lap warmer…I could use you instead of a kotatsu…" Kakashi said jokingly, nuzzling his way along Iruka's neck and jaw line. Iruka blushed at the man's comment-especially the part about the heated table. The thought of being with Kakashi during the winter brought all kinds of dirty thoughts-ways to 'warm up'-to Iruka's once wholesome mind. Kakashi was such a terrible influence.

"…umm…" Iruka pursed his lips as he gently pulled away from Kakashi's body, trying to think of a way to phrase his thoughts. He knew that the jounin he was currently using as a chair was surprised at his actions, but Kakashi thankfully didn't make any protest or interrupt Iruka as he took a deep breath. He released his breath slowly, his eyes taking in every inch of Kakashi's smirking face. "I…umm…I was wondering…if…that is…I mean…could I…argh…" Iruka bit his lip, growling softly at his inability to request the simplest of things from the silver haired man. Iruka sighed at his own immaturity. He was so nervous and embarrassed to even _ask _for something like this. He just wanted to take the jounin's mask off and kiss Kakashi senseless…but he couldn't even get out the word 'kiss' without wanting to lower his head in shame. He was just making the poor man confused with his garbled speech-or _attempts_ at speech-so Iruka settled for a more…physical request.

The chuunin brought his hands up to Kakashi's face and gently cupped the jounin's cheeks. Iruka's thumbs hooked around the edges of the silver haired pervert's mask and slowly pulled the piece of material down, his eyes drinking in the tall man's pale skin as it was revealed. Kakashi smiled, tightening his arms around Iruka as the chuunin continued to pull his mask down.

_Kawaii…he was trying to ask if he could kiss me?_ Kakashi wondered, getting a crystal-clear answer when Iruka bowed his head far enough to brush his lips up and down across Kakashi's. That innocent act made shivers run through Kakashi's body as the jounin forced himself not to do anything but enjoy Iruka's unhurried kiss. Which he did with great pleasure.

Iruka slowly moved his lips against Kakashi's, amazed at how soft the man's skin was, but was even more surprised at how Kakashi hadn't returned the kiss. The way Kakashi sat, with his arms wrapped around Iruka's middle and his hands running down the chuunin's sides and back, Iruka knew it wasn't that Kakashi wasn't _liking_ the gentle pressure, but that the man had wanted Iruka to set the pace-and decide what they were going to do. That sweet gesture made Iruka's lips twist into a smile, his earlier nervousness dissipating as he shifted, moving his body closer to Kakashi's as he reluctantly pulled away from the jounin's lips.

"…Iruka?" Kakashi said the man's name softly, as to not break the spell that he found himself caught under as Iruka's eyes met his own. The chuunin blushed, turning his head to the side, wondering what he had been thinking-teasing Kakashi with such innocent kisses.

Iruka nearly jumped back when he felt the jounin's hands dip down low enough to cup the muscles in his behind, but was held down by the odd urge to see where this new warm, tingling sensation led to. Iruka could see the amazement in Kakashi's visible eye when he pressed his lower body into Kakashi's hands. It had the strangest effect on Iruka's body. He felt the warmth of Kakashi's hands on his body, but at the same time, a shiver threatened to erupt through the brunette's body.

It made Iruka smile at the implausibility of their situation. The man known as one of the most unattainable beings in the entire village and Iruka-the quiet, reserved chuunin teacher who everyone saw either as a brother or son-were currently locked in each other's embrace. Kakashi's large hands were holding Iruka's behind possessively as Iruka began covering the jounin's unmasked face in tender kisses. No one in the missions office would have ever believed Iruka if he even had the urge to tell them about this particular early morning visit.

Iruka slowly found his way back to Kakashi's lips, becoming bolder by the second as he started tasting the jounin's skin. Kakashi tasted salty, but still delicious. Iruka knew the flavor immediately-ramen. From the taste of it, Iruka guessed it to be pork-flavored. He continued to lick the man's lips, which had curved up into a smile as Kakashi forced himself not to lose himself in the sensations Iruka brought about. No one had ever tried to _lick_ Kakashi in such a manner before and the jounin had to admit that he found it incredibly sexy.

Iruka could feel the jounin's face warm up as he showered the tall man in licks. He kept his attentions away from Kakashi's mouth, having already found out that the man's kisses were even more addictive than the faint taste of ramen on his skin. That was something Iruka would have to ask about later…_why_ did Kakashi's face taste like ramen? At the moment, Iruka didn't care, so he shrugged off the thought and continued to map out Kakashi's face with his tongue and lips.

"Iruka…" Kakashi couldn't stop himself from whispering the man's name when he felt Iruka's attention drifting down his jaw line, to his sensitive neck. He turned his head, leaning back slightly to give Iruka more area to touch with his gentle, wet caresses. Kakashi involuntarily moaned when Iruka had exchanged those addictively soft treatments for something that got the jounin's entire body to shiver with each passing moment.

Iruka, smirking when he remembered the visible marks Kakashi had left on him, decided to get the man back for doing such things to him. He mimicked the actions Kakashi had used to discolor his neck, the muscles in his lower body tightening when he realized that the jounin was loving his actions. Kakashi moaned so softly, that Iruka wouldn't have known he did so except for the fact he felt the man's throat vibrate underneath him.

_Kuso…he's good at this…_Kakashi thought to himself as he brought one hand up to Iruka's head, tangling his fingers into the chuunin's soft hair. He used his hand to bring Iruka's face, and that talented mouth of his, closer to his neck, gasping when Iruka began gently sucking his neck right underneath his Adam's apple. Iruka couldn't help but smirk when he heard the jounin making those soft mewling sounds that only made the chuunin to suck harder, which only got Kakashi's vocalizations to become louder.

"I-Iruka…" Kakashi's deep voice sounded pleading, so Iruka abruptly stopped, wondering if he had done something wrong. He realized he had actually done the exact opposite when Kakashi shifted underneath him, pressing a very noticeable hardness into Iruka's thigh. That got Iruka to turn all shades of pink as he forced himself to _not_ look at Kakashi's arousal. The chuunin had liked to do those things to Kakashi, but obviously the jounin had more than _liked _those events. Iruka chuckled softly, burying his head into Kakashi's neck before the silver haired pervert caught a glimpse of the blush on his face. "…I thought…you wanted to kiss me…" Kakashi said jokingly as soon as he found the ability to speak again. The chuunin didn't pull his face away from Kakashi's neck, but the jounin knew the brunette had to be smiling.

"You didn't like _that_?" Iruka retorted from his hiding place in the jounin's neck, giving Kakashi a lick right above the mark he could clearly see on the man's pale skin. From the looks of it, the mark probably would take weeks to fade enough that it wouldn't be so evident. Kakashi groaned, his lower body agreeing with Iruka's comment as his pants continued their decent into the 'feeling a little too tight for comfort' category. The chuunin was too damn sexy for his own good.

"…maa…if you don't stop…I might have to do _unmentionable_ things to you, Iruka," Kakashi replied, pressing his arousal into Iruka for an added measure. The chuunin eeped, but didn't move from Kakashi's lap, so the jounin took that as a positive sign. He slowly ground his hips into Iruka's, smiling perversely when he heard Iruka's breathing change its patterns.

"Hentai…" Iruka stated as he tried his hardest not to let his willpower go flying out the window. It was difficult to begin with, but having Kakashi rub his erection made things even harder-and not just Iruka's decisions (A/N: if you know what I mean…). The chuunin bit down on his lip, trying to force himself to remember that this was the _exact_ situation he hadn't wanted to get into…at least…not _tonight_. "Kakashi…"

"I should leave, ne?" Kakashi said softly, hiding his disappointment with a chuckle. He could feel Iruka nod slowly into his neck, which only made him become even more frustrated. One moment, Iruka was molesting him like there was no tomorrow, then stops abruptly, wanting Kakashi to leave. The jounin didn't know what exactly he had done-or what god he had pissed off-to deserve this. The sexiest man he had ever laid eyes on, who happened to be one of the _very_ few that Kakashi wanted with such ferocity, just _had_ to be the most indecisive person to exist. If the chuunin was having second thoughts on their 'relationship' (if this sadistic play on Kakashi's hormones could be called such a thing), Kakashi would have been more understanding. But, as things stood, Iruka obviously wanted this just as much as he did-if the marks scattered across Kakashi's neck were anything to go by. Even yesterday Iruka had been forward, stripping Kakashi in the middle of his kitchen and acting as if he had no idea what kind of hell he was putting Kakashi through when he asked him to leave…and tonight was turning out to be exactly the same (well, except for the stripping part).

"…maybe…" Iruka replied, pulling himself away from Kakashi's warm neck as he looked up into Kakashi's visible eye, which was curved upwards in a forced 'smile.' The chuunin nearly lost his nerve when he saw the faint signs of irritation in Kakashi's unmasked face. Iruka's entire body screamed for him to throw all caution to the wind and just let Kakashi's hands touch him, the man's soft lips kiss him, his perfect teeth mark him…Iruka wanted Kakashi to claim him in the most visceral of ways. But the chuunin's mind knew better. If he let his instincts take over him, he would irrevocably change his relationship with Kakashi. And, after hearing about Kakashi's infamous aloofness with other lovers, Iruka was hesitant to alter his friendly relations with the Sharingan user. Iruka let his gaze drop as he began to nervously trace abstract shapes into the jounin's clothed chest, thinking things over. Kakashi wasn't known for having lasting relationships, but that was exactly what Iruka had always wanted-to fall in love with one person…who would be the 'one and only' person in his life. Iruka wasn't sure if the 'one' was Kakashi, but knew that the man was the closest thing to perfection that Iruka would ever see.

"…you're making it damn hard to leave," Kakashi pointed out, his gaze dropping down to Iruka's hands, which were trembling as they drew circles on Kakashi's shirt. He moved a hand up to catch one of the man's shaking hands and held it, trying to think of a way to word his thoughts. _I can't do this…Iruka is too…emotional…I don't want to hurt him…_Kakashi thought to himself as he brought Iruka's hand up to his face and brushed his lips against the back of the chuunin's hand. "…I…don't want _this_…"

"Kakashi?" Iruka's eyes snapped up to Kakashi's face, his eyes filled with curiosity. He was slightly terrified of what exactly Kakashi was talking about, but the majority of the chuunin's emotions revolved around relief. If Kakashi made the ultimate decision, it meant that Iruka's emotions and hormones had nothing to do with their relationship…it meant their bond was based on something more than fleeting passions since Kakashi wasn't a person who was so easily swayed to making choices.

"…I…just…want to be…" Kakashi took a deep breath, clearing his face of any potentially betraying expressions before he continued. "…friends…" Iruka bit his lip, forcing himself not to look dejected as Kakashi's words finally hit.

'_I just…want to be friends'?…how can that be? Did I do something wrong?_ Iruka's mind was racing as he tried to think of some reason Kakashi was pushing him away when only a few moments ago, the jounin had been _quite_ ready to change their relationship status. He let his face slip into a façade of indifference-bordering on agreement-before he mustered up enough nerve to look back up at Kakashi. The jounin didn't look at all fazed by what he had stated, which made Iruka realize how much of a fool he had been by trying to delude himself with thoughts of Kakashi actually _caring_ about him. "…yo kata…I…was thinking the same thing," Iruka lied, keeping his voice at a practiced, composed tone as he smiled. It took all of Iruka's energy just to look at Kakashi with such a fake expression-and all of his concentration not to think about the way his heart had _thumped_ when Kakashi looked at him with that smiling eye of his…and not to break down and beg for Kakashi to give him a reason.

"…maa…then I should be going…" Kakashi said softly, bowing his head as he felt the pressure of the chuunin leaving his lap. He hadn't been expecting such an impassive answer from Iruka. He had actually been _hoping_ for Iruka to demand a reason, hit him, kiss him…something that would have been expected of the emotional chuunin…but Iruka just calmly took everything in and actually _agreed_ with Kakashi without batting an eyelash. No one could hide their emotions so well-not even the Infamous Copy Cat Nin. That realization made Kakashi's lips turn upwards in a cheerless smile as he stood up off the couch. Iruka never felt anything for him-which was a _good_ thing for Kakashi. Kakashi was quick to leave, pulling his mask up before he exited in a poof of smoke.

The only thing that had the jounin perturbed was one question that had begun nagging in the back of his mind. _If it was a good thing Iruka didn't feel anything for me…why does it hurt so much?_

If he had waited a moment longer before leaving, Kakashi would have seen the brunette break down, sobbing. Maybe if he had done that, the jounin wouldn't have felt a new surge of coldness overtake the heart that had been warming up to a certain brunette chuunin.

--…--

Authoress: maa, what did you all think of the chapter?…it was so hard for me to get into the 'Kakashi' side of things, since he's being entirely irrational…but, I hope I did a (slightly) good job at relaying their emotions…so…until next chapter…Ja ne!

LB-chan: No/sobs/ Say it ain't so Kanemoshi-chan! But why? You never give up free yaoi! Poor Iruka...Kakashi ish being mean. On the other hand, they'll have to kiss and make up now. /devilish smile/

Authoress: kukuku...it just makes up for better make-up sex...err.../smiles innocently/ _kissing_, ne, LB-chan?...and I'd like to thank my two wonderful beta-readers, LB-chan and Tina-chan…they do a lovely job…and even deal with my massively long e-mails and IMs! They deserve medals…/smiles/ well...I'll be leaving now...so, please review...I need some motivation to write more soon...even though I'm supposed to be working on a term paper right about now...


	8. Kurenai on the Prowl

Authoress: yosh! I'm back again with chapter eight of "Underneath The Scars"! So far, I've gotten an amazing response from everyone…and I just want to thank all of you for your wonderful comments and such…so, lemme just remind everyone…whoever submits the **one hundredth review** to this story will get to choose a pairing and I'll write a story just for you! So /looks at her current stats/…only nine reviews before that happens…so, let those reviews come!

Tina-chan: Kurenai is awesome. So is Mizutamari Mari. Remember that and be happy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…don'cha wish I did, though? It'd be one amazing series…kinda like FAKE or Gravitation (maybe even Passion, Golden Cain, Desire…My Sexual Harassment (amazing anime, by the way…THE CORN!…those of you who got that…yep…I can't eat corn on the cob without smirking perversely at my siblings and waving it around like it's a katana…), etc.) all over again…/drools/

LB: And here you go! One hot and steamy yaoi story fresh out of the oven! And with a side of lemon…/rambles on, drooling/

Authoress: and, of course, once again, I'd like to thank my amazing beta-readers, Tina-chan ( on FFN, it's **Heosic-chan**...visit her profile, darn it...she's a wonderful writer!)...and The LB (.../cries/ what amazing writing skills! Everyone should go check out her stuff toooooo!) I'd also like to thank Sentai-chan.../sniffles/ if it wasn't for exams (damn tests and such!), she would have been beta-ing this chapter as well...NEXT TIME SENTAI-CHAN!

Chapter Eight

Kakashi let his head fall back, his skull hitting into the tree trunk with a loud _thunk_. The jounin tried to ignore the pain that shot through his head with that action, but found himself being pulled out of the meditative stance he had been in for the past hour. His eyes snapped open as he slowly sat back up, rubbing his sore head. He hadn't been expecting anyone to be in front of him, since he would have been able to sense their chakra easily from his earlier state, so the jounin actually jumped back when he saw Iruka sitting mere inches away from him.

The chuunin looked quite comfortable, despite the fact he was sprawled across the cold, hard ground. Kakashi couldn't see the brunette's expression since Iruka's entire body was tilted backwards as the chuunin stared up at the sky. Kakashi raised his eyebrow, wondering how exactly Iruka could have snuck up on him while he was meditating. For all shinobi, meditation allowed them to stretch and strengthen their senses to the point they could feel someone's chakra a day's travel away. Knowing that, Kakashi was slightly hesitant to inform Iruka that he knew of his presence.

"…I haven't meditated in months…" Iruka stated softly as he continued to look up at the sky, but the young man's face turned slightly, as if acknowledging Kakashi's awareness. "…gomen…I didn't mean to be a bother…"

"Daijoubu, Iruka…I probably should go meet my team soon," Kakashi replied calmly as he slowly stood up, brushing off his uniform as he did so. The sight of Iruka made the lazy jounin remember that his students had a mission outside the village today. Even though his voice sounded unemotional, Kakashi was inwardly flipping out. Only a few hours ago, he had told Iruka that he had just wanted to be _friends_. It wasn't exactly what Kakashi had meant to say at the time, but he couldn't take it back when he heard Iruka agree with him. For a few hours after leaving Iruka's apartment, Kakashi wandered around, eventually finding himself standing in front of a black stone that was covered in etchings. It was an ironic beauty that the carved boulder held, Kakashi knew, but he didn't take the time to admire the stone. He had only enough time to make sure no one was nearby before kneeling down next to the monument and resting his head against its cold surface, unabashed tears being absorbed by his mask.

Kakashi didn't believe in much-especially not life after death-but he had just started talking, wishing that his dead friends could hear him and, maybe, somehow help. Unfortunately, Obito and the Yondaime didn't hear his anguished prayers, since Kakashi left the memorial hours later. He no longer had any tears to cry, but he didn't even have an answer to his question. Why did it have to hurt?

"Naruto told me you had a mission…" Iruka let out a bouncy chuckle, turning his head enough that Kakashi was caught by his eyes and the jounin knew he couldn't escape unless Iruka willed it. "…he also mentioned this game he, Sakura, and Sasuke are playing…they're determined to see what's under your mask. I tried telling him to let it drop…but he's so stubborn…"

Kakashi forced himself to smile, biting back the urge to walk over to the man stretched out across the grass and just admit he was wrong-that he _couldn't_ be friends with Iruka. Kakashi never was a person for eloquent words or emotions, but he knew he (after a great deal of stuttering and begging) would get his point across to the chuunin. He needed Iruka, not as a friend, but as everything that he knew Iruka couldn't be. A lover…a partner…someone that Kakashi could return to every night without wondering if _last _night was their last time together. He didn't care anymore what Iruka would call their relationship-or what anyone else would think about them. All he wanted was the brunette mere feet away from him. Kakashi knew he wasn't selfish or demanding and was usually proud of that small fact. Today was the first time he regretted it. If it wasn't for his character, Kakashi would have ignored everything and just told Iruka how he felt. But, being the respectable person that he was, Kakashi would keep that information to himself. Iruka said he only wanted to be friends and Kakashi would value his decision. He wouldn't burden Iruka with his feelings for the younger man.

_Just friends…that's all he wants……it's all I wanted…_Kakashi reminded himself as he outstretched his hand to help the chuunin up. Iruka took his gloved hand, smiling politely as he gracefully stood up. Kakashi studied him for a moment, noticing that Iruka held all of his usual qualities, but there was something that was setting Kakashi on edge as he hesitantly let go of Iruka's fingers. _…no one could sneak up on me that easily…not even Iruka…_he thought to himself as his eyes took in every feature of the brunette. There wasn't a single thing on the man that would scream 'imposter,' like Kakashi was hoping would be the case. Within seconds, Kakashi realized why he had been sensing something unusual. Iruka was _too _normal. Kakashi knew the man well enough to know that Iruka _always_ showed his emotions through his eyes - through the way he walked and held himself. You could even see his emotions by just looking at the mysterious scar across his nose. It always was pale when he was angry, darker when he was happy. But, right now, the white strip of flesh seemed…neutral in Kakashi's mind. After taking another sidelong glance at the chuunin, Kakashi wondered how he could have missed it before. This couldn't have been the chuunin he knew so well…unless Iruka had used a jutsu to hide every emotion. And, if that was the case, Kakashi would never forgive him. The thing Kakashi admired most about the young man was that he wasn't afraid to show everything he felt and was still able to face society.

"…maa, Iruka…Daijoubu ka?" Kakashi kept his eye focused on the ground as he started walking, his senses telling him that the chuunin had fallen into step next to him. It was the way Iruka walked that Kakashi knew something was seriously wrong with the man. Iruka never walked so softly - without even making a sound - unless he was training or fighting. And, Kakashi hoped, neither was the cause of Iruka's sudden change in pace. Kakashi wasn't in the mood to have the crap beaten out of him, since he knew he wouldn't be able to even raise a defending fist against the chuunin right now.

"…Daijoubu, Kakashi…" The way he said the jounin's name made said man shudder slightly. Yep, Iruka was seriously pissed. Kakashi, having learned through past mistakes, knew it would be in his best interests to let it drop, but the thought of something being wrong with Iruka nagged at him until the jounin turned to look Iruka square in the eye.

"Iruka…I…"

"Kakashi…about the past few days…gomen…" Iruka dropped his head slightly, his voice taking on the tone of regret. Kakashi could hear it wasn't a false sense of remorse, which got the man's heart to plummet into his stomach. '_Gomen'…I…I never really meant much to him, I guess…maa, at least…not in that way…_

"…don't apologize, Iruka…" Kakashi said softly, tearing his eyes away from the chuunin. It hurt to even _think_ of talking to the young man like this - as if he was a stranger. Their familiarity and friendliness had all but disappeared in a single few ill-chosen words on Kakashi's part - and Iruka's agreement. The jounin smiled desolately as he took a quick glimpse at Iruka. There was no way someone could imitate Iruka so well…or that the chuunin could hide his emotions like this. Something was seriously wrong with his friend, but Kakashi had to remind himself that he was no longer on that level of friendship. _Of course I'm not…I forced my feelings on Iruka…no wonder he wanted to 'talk' to me this morning…and I kissed him without even thinking of his emotions…Kuso…_

"…um…when you get back from your mission…maybe…we could…I don't know…have dinner or something…" Iruka commented, the customary warmth returning to his voice. Kakashi had to force himself to chuckle as he smiled underneath his mask - knowing that Iruka wouldn't be able to see how fake that smile was.

"Maa, only if you're cooking, Iruka…" Kakashi joked as he subtly watched the chuunin. Iruka's sudden change in disposition was more than just uncanny…it was downright suspicious. Iruka laughed softly at Kakashi's remark, showing all the characteristics that Kakashi had come to associate with the smaller man - but something was still off.

"…I have to go get ready for my academy classes…I guess I'll see you later, Kakashi…" Iruka said, taking a few long strides so he was standing in front of the man as he bid farewell. Kakashi couldn't help but eye the chuunin warily. Iruka never walked ahead of Kakashi - it was a small aspect of the man that Kakashi hadn't really noticed until now. The jounin always passed it up to the fact he had longer legs and that he usually knew where they were walking, so Iruka let him take the lead and happily started up conversation from Kakashi's side. If Iruka ever said goodbye while they were walking, he would stop and wait for Kakashi to notice, then remain in one spot until Kakashi realized he was walking alone and returned to the chuunin's side. At that point, Iruka would leave with a polite goodbye and go off walking - or sprinting, if he was running late - in the direction of his destination.

"…Ja ne, Iruka…" Kakashi replied, putting on a happy smile as he inwardly wished he had the nerve to remove his hitai-ate to see what exactly was wrong with Iruka - to find out what was making him feel so uncomfortable. As Iruka brought his hands up to his face and made a few quick seals, Kakashi's visible eye narrowed slightly. Iruka never used a transportation jutsu when he could just as easily walk or run. That small inconsistency made Kakashi forget all feelings for the chuunin as he studied the brunette from a shinobi's point of view - not a friend's. The man's body was held comfortably, which meant he wasn't threatened by Kakashi's presence in any way. His eyes and the rest of his facial features reflected the calmness that his voice and body reflected. But, as the chuunin disappeared in a puff of smoke, Kakashi found the one thing he was looking for.

_His chakra…_Kakashi replayed the instant the man teleported through his mind several times before the obvious difference in the man's chakra finally made some sense. _I couldn't sense him before…because his chakra was so well hidden…and I didn't notice because my mind was so preoccupied…but, just now…I could feel his chakra…_ Kakashi looked at the exact spot his friend had been standing in a moment ago as he let the treacherous thought enter his mind. _It…felt like Naruto's……demonic…_

The jounin sighed softly, weighing out his options. He finally decided that whoever this Iruka imposter was…he wouldn't last long with the real chuunin around and, as much of an attentive genius Kakashi was, he knew that Iruka's students would see a fake within seconds of looking at the man. And, Kakashi knew for a fact, a group of angry and/or confused children was the worst possible punishment anyone could receive.

All Kakashi worried about as he started strolling towards his team's meeting place was if the real Iruka was alright with everything that happened this morning. _It wasn't a clone…and it wasn't Iruka…but he knew exactly what had happened…and was so much like the real Iruka……why would he have had demonic chakra?_ That thought bugged the silver-haired jounin to no ends as he slipped a hand into his vest and pulled out a second black mask. _Maa…if he's right…those little brats deserve this…_

The jounin continued walking, wondering if his meditation had done anything but give him even more questions.

--…on to Iruka!--

"Never again, Iruka!" Said chuunin rubbed his, now, aching ear as he listened to the ranting kappa who had been pacing across his bedroom floor so long, he was sure Mizutamari Mari was wearing the floorboards out. He raised an eyebrow at the demon's latest comment.

"…Sensei…it's just today…" Iruka repeated for the fifth time in the past five minutes. Sometimes the creature could be just as stubborn as Kakashi, Iruka realized as he sighed in exasperation. Some days he wondered if either male was worth all the anguish they caused. He smiled softly, knowing that his silver-haired friend was worth every torturous moment…the kappa on the other hand…he wasn't so sure.

"I don't care if it's for another _minute_! I already impersonated you _once_ today…and I'm sure your little boyfriend noticed that I wasn't you!" Iruka's eyes widened slightly. This piece of information was so surprising, he ignored the 'boyfriend' comment as he let the idea of Kakashi knowing about their ploy rotate through his mind. "And don't give me those big eyes, Gaki, he's an elite jounin…it would have amazed me if he _didn't _realize something was wrong! If I were you, I'd race out to the village gates to catch him before he leaves and tell him the whole story!"

"…what would I tell him? That I love him…that I don't want to be 'just friends?' Mizutamari Mari…he doesn't want me…I don't want to have to hear him turn me down a second time…" Iruka replied softly, curling his arms around his bent legs as he rested his head on his kneecaps. He sighed, burying his face into his leg as he tried to ignore the heaviness that had started filling his chest. It had taken three hours of his teacher's raving to get Iruka to ease the pain of rejection then another two of staring into space as he tried sleeping before Iruka could even _think_ of the jounin without breaking down crying on the kappa's scaly shoulder - again.

"…demons don't have emotions like you ningen do, Gaki, so I don't know exactly what you're feeling…but I've felt the pain of loss…and I would do anything to not ever go through that again…" Iruka looked up from his legs and let the barest of smiles grace his lips before sighing again. "…I'm not going to criticize you again for what you're doing, Iruka…but one male to another, it would be better if you let that idiot of a jounin know how you feel…even if it means more pain for you now…you won't be regretting it later on…"

"…I know you're right…" Iruka commented, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. His teacher had gone for over two hundred years before he finally worked up the nerve to take a mate - a beautiful water sprite that he had been lusting after for generations of Iruka's family. It actually took a few arguments on Iruka's part, but he was truthfully happy for the demon when his aging teacher finally received the news of his mate conceiving their first child. Now, nearly six years later, he had three heirs and was expecting two more in a few months. Sometimes, the best thing for love was a little push by friends, but Iruka seriously doubted that anyone could help his and Kakashi's relationship at this point. "But…I can't…"

"…so, na…" Iruka lowered his head back into his thighs as he took a shaky breath, followed by a soft hiccup. Just thinking about the pride his teacher and friend always showed when their conversations led off to his family made Iruka's entire body ache. He had found the one thing he always wanted - love - but it hurt to know that the legendary emotion wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "Fine…I'll impersonate you today…but that's it…and I won't do anymore of your socializing with your boyfriend…he was very on edge with me around…"

"…Kakashi's like that with everyone…" Iruka replied without even thinking about it. It had taken months to get to know Kakashi to a point he could talk with the jounin without any of that distrust in the air between them. "Arigatou, Sensei…I-I just don't think I could have dealt with classes today…"

"…now I have to deal with those…_things_…and you call my kind demonic…" Mizutamari Mari said with a dry chuckle. Iruka couldn't help but laugh at his sorry attempt at a joke. It was the closest thing the demon could come to a comforting gesture, which actually made Iruka feel slightly better. Thinking about his hellish students took the chuunin's mind off of the jounin who had been plaguing his thoughts all morning.

--kuku…I'll go on to Kakashi now…--

Kakashi yawned as he stretched his arms up over his head and was rewarded with a satisfying _pop_ in his shoulders. _Creepy stalkers…even creepier team…_he thought to himself as he smirked. It had given him so much pleasure to see his team's faces fall when he revealed a second mask underneath his first. Poor Naruto was so close to seeing his face, too. If Iruka - or whoever that imposter was - hadn't given him the heads up, Kakashi would have had to show his team his face. He always had a soft spot when it came to those three and knew that he would have pulled down his mask even if the second one wasn't firmly in place behind it. Those three had somehow changed the secretive jounin without him even realizing it until it was too late to go back. _Damn them…_ Kakashi cursed inwardly. The three were some group - always attacking Kakashi for no good reason, calling him lazy and a pervert (both of which he almost happily admitted to), but the fact that they were so much like his old team was what got to Kakashi the most. He could easily see Sasuke in his own place in a few years - but, for the other two, Kakashi couldn't see their futures as effortlessly. Obito and Rin never got the chance to grow up, so Kakashi could only imagine what might have been. _If I had been more caring back then…and not so by-the-books…they might still be alive…_the jounin mused as he continued walking. Throughout their D-ranking mission, Kakashi had a good laugh at his students' pitiful attempts at seeing his face. But the jounin had to admit, the three were getting more and more creative by the moment. They finally took the one approach that no one ever had - asking the jounin straight out what was under the mask. Even Gai and the other jounin always wondered while Kakashi was around, but never actually asked him to pull down the mask. _Thankfully…or else Anko and Kurenai would be starting a Kakashi-fan-club…_the man thought with a slight shiver.

With the image of a fan-club made just for him, Kakashi strolled down the darkening village streets, humming softly to himself. He only caught himself singing when he realized what tune it was. _The one…from the other day when I first kissed Iruka…_he thought, trying to shake the image of a very sexy chuunin underneath him on the small island in the middle of the kitchen. The vision was just too much for Kakashi's hormones. Instead, he settled on thinking about the Iruka-imposter. _Demonic chakra…no one, except Naruto and that Sabaku no Gaara should have that kind of power…_Kakashi pointed out to himself. He wasn't going to delude himself with some half-assed explanation as to why Iruka (or his almost-perfect imposter) would have traces of demonic chakra. Something was going on with the chuunin and it was Kakashi's duty to find out exactly what that 'something' was. But, because of his friendship with the younger man, Kakashi knew he wouldn't be able to bring this in front of Tsunade unless he first talked it over with Iruka and found out exactly what was going on from the chuunin himself.

"…Kakashi…" The jounin turned and nearly let out a visible twitch when he saw the _last_ two people he ever wanted to meet in a darkening street in Konoha. Gai let out a 'YOOOSH' when he finally noticed his eternal rival while his companion just raised an eyebrow at the jounin. Sometimes Kurenai's quiet nature was kind of creepy…even for Kakashi.

"Kurenai-san…" Kakashi regarded her with nonchalance while he ignored his overly-ecstatic 'friend.' With a 'that's so hip and youthful' from Gai and a wave from Kurenai, Kakashi took a few steps towards the pair. He almost stepped back when he saw the smile cross Kurenai's face. She was downright scary when she smiled like that. Even Ibiki was afraid of her to the point he never stayed around her unless there were at least two other jounin within a five foot radius. Sometimes Kakashi wondered how Asuma could actually stand the woman at times. Besides her busty form, there wasn't much to the woman except a whole load of sadism, usually directed towards Kakashi.

"…so, Kakashi, did you just get back from one of your missions?" Kurenai asked, her smile sending shivers down the jounin's back as he watched her walk closer to him. She obviously wanted information but, for the first time in his life (at least, all the years he had known the slightly cruel woman), Kakashi had no idea what she could want. If it was some kind of gossip from outside the village, she would have to know he didn't hear anything on a D-ranking mission that only took him a day's travel out of Konoha. All Kakashi found out during the mundane mission was that his students were truly hell-spawn and that he did something a while back to piss off three very creepy shinobi…and he couldn't remember exactly what he had done.

"Maa…it was just a D-ranked mission…" Kakashi stated coolly as he took a subtle glance at his 'eternal rival.' Whatever Kurenai had up her sleeve, their _glowing_ friend knew about it as well. How Gai could _glow_, Kakashi didn't even want to know. All the jounin knew was that his two friends wanted something out of him…and whatever it was, they were willing to (almost certainly) beat it out of him if he didn't give it over freely.

"…it took quite a while for a D-rank…" Kurenai stated calmly, pulling out a kunai in order to clean her nails. Kakashi watched her curiously, his mind planning out anything she could possibly ask. Since Kurenai had a two-track mind (sex and violence), Kakashi knew there was very little the woman could possibly ask him and he wouldn't be surprised with the question. Too bad he wasn't preparing for the one that came out of her mouth. "So, what's up with you and Ruru-chan?" Kakashi inwardly twitched at the man's name - even considering it was a pet-name Iruka hated. It made all kinds of unwanted images and feelings come to the jounin's mind.

"Maa?" Kakashi really had no idea what she wanted. He wasn't doing anything with the chuunin - except for those few kisses, hitched breaths, and fleeting touches, but he knew they wouldn't happen again. Anyways, he knew that Kurenai couldn't have found out about that. Iruka would have never told anyone and Kakashi was quite sure no one was watching them.

"Oh, don't play innocent, Kakashi! You two are the talk of the entire shinobi community!" Kurenai retorted, her voice taking on a cold tone as she pushed an accusing finger into Kakashi's vest. If his puffy jacket hadn't been the one thing separating his body from her touch, Kakashi knew that would have left a large bruise - and probably have knocked the air out of him. Sometimes, his friends were too dangerous for their own good. Kakashi gave Kurenai a bored look, raising an eyebrow when her lips formed a pout. On anyone else (even Gai), the pout would have been considered cute. On Kurenai…it was just ominous. "I've heard a few interesting rumors and I want to hear the truth from you…are you fucking Ruru-chan?" For some reason, hearing Iruka's nickname on the woman's lips made Kakashi's entire body shake even more than the actual meaning behind her words. The way she said his name made a surge of emotions - mostly jealousy - weigh down on Kakashi's already heavy heart.

"…excuse me?" Kakashi stared at her blankly, the gears in his mind spinning. It was a part of shinobi life not to jump to conclusions before knowing all the facts, but the chuunin and jounin circles were like any other gossip-whores when they were off missions. And they loved having juicy, forbidden loves to talk about. Kakashi decided then and there that he would find whoever started this rumor and wring the little bastard's neck. He could deal with the ridicule, but he didn't want to have that story following Iruka around.

"…Kakashi, we're all adults here…_are_ you in a sexual relationship with Ruru-chan? Because, if you are, it'd be better to just tell us now…so the rumors don't grow too big…" Kurenai stated. Kakashi knew she was right - about the rumors growing if he didn't squash them now - but he knew better than to give into the woman's demands. No matter what he said to her, she'd twist it to her own perverted needs - and tell everyone that he and Iruka were in an affair of some kind. He bit his inner cheek, fighting back the urge to snap at the woman, since that would just add fuel to the proverbial fire. If he showed protectiveness or jealousy when the matter at hand was Iruka, everyone would know that the chuunin was more than just a friend - much more. Kakashi never stood up for his lovers, no matter how much they meant to him - even though no one, besides Obito, ever meant more than a good bed warmer in Kakashi's mind.

"…I'm not sleeping with Iruka…we're friends and nothing more, Kurenai…" Kakashi replied, keeping his tone neutral as he felt the muscles in his hand tighten slightly. If Kurenai saw his fist, she didn't make a point of it as she leaned back, sighing disappointedly. Apparently, Kurenai had been waiting for some kind of love confession from Kakashi - which she almost got. _Almost_.

"…hmm…I was so sure you two were together from all the time you spend around him, Kakashi." Kakashi's eyes had drifted to Gai, who was being so unusually quiet, Kakashi found himself unable to even listen to Kurenai for more than a second. There was something wrong with the man…and Kakashi (even though he would have loved to have a chance to 'beat his eternal rival') was slightly worried. He had known Gai since they were young - a disturbing realization, in Kakashi's mind - and the man always loved to hear himself talk. But today the uppity jounin was staring off into space, a distant look in his creepy eyes. It was almost too _normal _for Kakashi. He couldn't stop himself from sighing as he turned to look at the Green Beast of Konoha.

"…what happened to you?" Kakashi asked, hoping Gai couldn't hear the slight worry in his monotone voice. Gai would never let Kakashi live it down if he realized that his best friend actually _cared_ about him…well, as much as someone _could _care for Gai.

Kakashi so wanted to take back his words when Gai was shaken from his daze and those eerie eyes and furry eyebrows shifted to direct their equally creepy vibe at him. Raising an eyebrow at Gai's downcast expression, Kakashi was about to give the man a suggestion for a competition that Gai would obviously win - who was creepier…and Kurenai could be the judge - but before he got the chance to propose the idea, Gai's discouraged face turned into the most frightening, shiny smile Kakashi had ever had the misfortune to experience. For a moment, Kakashi was sure he had lost his vision permanently.

"I am so glad you asked, my hip rival!" Kakashi cringed at the enthusiasm in Gai's jubilant voice. No living creature should be able to change their emotions so quickly…especially someone like Gai…it was just plain wrong. "I have found the most wonderful aspect of youth! Even more youthful than our rivalry!"

_Does that mean he's going to leave me alone now?_ Kakashi wondered to himself as he watched the poster boy for Spandex-R-Us do a nice-guy pose, adding a shimmering smile and sunset backdrop for effect. It _almost _made Kakashi visibly twitch.

"Apparently, Gai's found himself someone…as youthful as he is…" Kurenai decided to get Kakashi up to speed out of kindness - or from the sadistic humor that she had as she watched Kakashi slowly let that statement filter through his mind. _Someone…youthful…found. _It was almost too much for Kakashi's mind to handle as Kurenai's statement began making sense. _Shimatta…Gai's got a girlfriend…or boyfriend!_ _What the hell! _Kakashi felt his small world come crashing down with that realization. His 'eternal rival' had a lover while Kakashi was all alone without even any possible bed partners. _Maa…there's Iru-no…I can't…we're only friends and I'm not going to change it…I'd prefer to be just friends…_

"What's wrong, Kakashi?" Gai dropped his nice-guy pose when he saw the flicker of sadness that passed through Kakashi's visible eye. His expression became somber when he saw his friend flinch at the words. Kakashi didn't think anyone noticed his change in attitude, but, from the concerned expressions from his two friends, the alteration was more than just obvious - it was alarming to them.

"…nothing…….who is it?" Kakashi tried to mask his growing jealousy with the question, but Gai saw right through it. He walked up to the Copy-Cat Nin and clasped his hand onto Kakashi's shoulder, giving a _normal_ smile to his best friend.

"…you really like Iruka, don't you?" Kurenai asked softly, watching as Kakashi tried to brush Gai's hand off his shoulder, but the man had a death grip on him. She squealed and clasped her hands together when she saw a hint of annoyance in Kakashi's usually unemotional face. "You do! Kawaii! So, how long have you two been together! When was your first time together…ooh, who's seme? I bet Iruka is, ne? I always thought you'd be uke if you and Iruka ever got together…so, tell me all the details, Kakashi! Was your first time in your apartment, his, or…was it somewhere _else_! You have to tell me, Kakashi!"

Sometimes the Copy Cat Nin hated having people even more perverted than him for friends…at other times, they were actually fun to have around. Too bad those 'fun times' pertained to the few times his buddies were all drunk and Genma or Raido (or whoever was in a relationship that weekend) was feeling particularly frisky…

"We're not together…and we're not going to be. Iruka is just a friend," Kakashi stated firmly, his tone all but convincing Kurenai that something happened between the men. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what could have possibly occurred in the few days she hadn't seen Kakashi. He hadn't been in the village for a few days due to his genin mission, so he couldn't have really _done_ anything with Iruka to ruin their close friendship…which left that he had done something stupid right before leaving. She fought back the urge to smack the back of her friend's head, but when she saw the leering glimmer to his eye, she ignored her better judgment and, with one fluid movement, landed her palm forcefully into the back of Kakashi's skull. "Itai!" It was the first time Kurenai had ever heard Kakashi cry out in pain, which left no doubt in her mind. Something was seriously wrong with the man.

"Baka! What did you do to Ruru-chan!"

"Nothing, kuso!" Kakashi retorted coldly as he cradled the back of his head. Sometimes Kurenai didn't know her own strength…and Kakashi hadn't been expecting her to actually hit him, so his entire head was throbbing and the small hypochondriac in him was sure she cracked the bone.

"My eternal rival would never harm his love interest!" Gai exclaimed, surprising the other two jounin with his statement. Gai never defended Kakashi before, especially when said jounin was present and conscious. The thing that surprised Kakashi, though, was his choice in words.

_Love interest…I don't **love** Iruka…I'm just physically and intellectually attracted to him…and no wonder, after having to deal with Gai for so many years…_Kakashi theorized, ignoring the slight increase in his heart rate when he admitted that he _was_ attracted to Iruka. _He's beautiful, modest, strong, quick-minded, stubborn, intelligent, funny…wonderful…_Kakashi inwardly sighed at his last observation. He knew Iruka was perfect in every way. Not only was Iruka perfect in everything he did and said, but ideal in every conceivable sense of the word. Kakashi disregarded this information as he forced his heartbeat to steady, his breathing to remain even, and his face and voice to stay unemotional.

"Iruka is nothing more than a friend," Kakashi stated, his tone leaving no chance for Kurenai or Gai to debate his statement. Kakashi saw the glimmer of curiosity in the kunoichi's eyes, but she didn't say anything as Kakashi started walking away from them. If the silver-haired jounin wasn't so worried about forgetting the effects one particular chuunin had on him, he might have heard Kurenai hastily whisper to the spandex-clad man next to her.

"We have to do something about them…" Kurenai turned to look at the jounin next to her and smiled when she saw Gai nod his head. The lack of his usual 'youthful spirit' was a blessing in Kurenai's mind, but without his uppity nature, she could see the raw emotion behind his unique eyes. "Daijoubu, Gai…I'm sure you and Tsunami will have a great time on your date tonight…" She smiled when she saw the pink tinge come to her friend's cheeks. She never thought of Gai as a shy person - it actually never even crossed her mind for obvious reasons, but when she ran into Gai this morning and found him blushing like a schoolgirl, holding his cheek as if it was about to fall off, Kurenai couldn't help but wonder. After a game of twenty questions - and a few drinks - Gai finally admitted to having a girlfriend whose 'youthful spirit had captured him with a single glance.' Besides finding out that Gai was taking this woman (who Gai had called 'Tsunami-san') to dinner tonight and that she was from Nami no Kuni, Kurenai discovered, with a little more prodding, that Gai had really fallen for the woman. Kurenai didn't have to even see the woman, let alone when Gai was around her, to see how in love Gai was. Whoever she was, Kurenai was glad she came into Gai's life.

"…I'm not worrying about Tsunami-san…it's Kakashi…" Kurenai couldn't help but smile sadly when she heard Gai's reply. In the past, Kurenai and the rest of their jounin group always had been able to predict Kakashi, to be able to read his every movement and 'maa' with such precision many people thought that their 'gang' had some kind of telepathic ability. In all actuality, it was because of Kakashi's consistency that they knew their silver-haired friend so well. Ever since he had started hanging out with Iruka, though, Kakashi had slowly begun to change out of his ordinary schedule. At first, it was just limited to small things like being five minutes earlier than people were expecting him or handing his mission reports on _time_, but as the months went along, Kakashi had gradually become more _human_. He began showing more emotion than anyone had ever seen in him before, started actually having _fun_ when around people, even loosening up when around the rest of the jounin community. Kurenai almost audibly sighed when she realized that all the changes in Kakashi were due to one chuunin. This morning, before meeting up with Kakashi, Kurenai was about ready to congratulate Iruka for doing what no one else had ever been able to do. And, now that she had seen her comrade, she was seriously debating whether or not she should go _talk _toIruka while showing off one of her new kunai to the young man.

Most people didn't understand how close the jounin troupe was - it took one of those life and death experiences with those same people by your side to really understand the bond that connected them. It was more than friendship or a sexual connection holding them together - it was the fact that none of them would trust anyone else enough to protect their lives.

This tie was the reason Kurenai patted Gai on the shoulder before walking off to find her (future) partner in matchmaking or (if that didn't work) in crime. _Anko should be eating dango at the bridge right now…if I run, I probably could get her interested enough to promise to help before even knowing what is going on…_ With that, Kurenai went off in search of her best female friend, a plan to get Kakashi and Iruka together already forming in her mind.

--end of this chapter…--

Authoress: GOMEN EVERYONE! I know it took me forever to get this chapter written and posted…and it was supposed to be faaaar longer than this…but…there is something besides my laziness you can blame…it's the fact I live in New York and I'm in high school…yep, for those of you who share those two qualities…that means…it's Regents week…so, when I'm not busy stuffing useless information into my already crammed mind, I'm taking insanely long tests, writing essays, or doing some other bullshit topic…thankfully I only have to take _four_ regents this year…Physics, English, Spanish, and US History…so far, I've gotten half of the English done…and it was buuuuuuulll!…I had to write about paraplegics and acid rain…my hand was numb for three hours (no joking here) afterwards!…I better get a good grade on that darn test… So, anyways, I will definitely update more often after school lets out…and I will finally get to the point we have some good LEMONS in one of my next few chapters…but I warn you now…this story is under Angst for a reason…so, until next chapter…SAYONARA AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS! And, once again, thank you my amazing beta-readers/cries/ I'm so glad I have 'guinea pigs'.../smiles/...well, I hope everyone enjoyed this (absolutely pointless) chapter!

LB: Review. Please. It keeps this wonderful work of art going!


	9. I'm Not Letting Go

Authoress: oooh, I can't believe it! I hit one hundred reviews _and_ 10,000 views for this story...in the same week! YOSH!

Sentai: I should give you an award for this story, it's so well written, I'm jealous.

Authoress:.../cries/ what a wonderful beta reader! ...actually, Sentai-chan called this chapter 'yummy' when I first gave her a preview of it...kukuku...when your Yaoi-loving-beta-reader calls it 'yummy'...you know it's got to be good.../smiles evilly/

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…or anything else for that matter…it's so sad! I don't even own the Icha Icha series...even though that would be very nice...kukuku

Chapter Nine

"…seriously?" Anko's mouth widened and she actually dropped the dango stick out of her mouth as she stared at Kurenai. The information she had just heard was almost too much for her, but her Yaoi-centric mind had already begun to process the other woman's findings. Sometimes it was a wonderful thing to have an image-oriented mind. Anko smiled evilly, picking up a new stick of dango and handing it to Kurenai. The other woman studied the proffered food for a moment before sticking the balls into her mouth and smiling as she ate them. It was very unusual for Anko to share her dango - which meant the woman was in an amazingly good mood over this new tidbit of information. "So…Kakashi finally found someone…kuku…I didn't think he was the 'Iruka' type…but I guess 'love knows no boundaries,' ne?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurenai asked curiously as she folded her arms across her massive chest, eyeing her female friend with distrust. Anko meant something else by her quote and a small part of Kurenai knew exactly what it meant. With a sigh, she lowered her arms and rested one on Anko's shoulder. "I'm guessing things didn't go over well…"

"…that's putting it mildly…" Anko replied with a snort. She took a deep breath and forced her emotions under control as she looked at Kurenai. The woman smiled hopefully at her friend, but Anko just glared at her for that. "…I don't know what other hints count as 'subtle,' Kurenai…I've all but thrown myself on top of him and ripped his clothes off……that sounds like an idea, actually…"

"_Iie_! You are not lowering yourself to basically raping Ibiki! If he's too stubborn to figure it out for himself, we'll think of something else to try…" A wide grin crossed Kurenai's face as a thoughtful expression overcame her. Anko raised an eyebrow as Kurenai chuckled to herself and commented slyly, "I don't even think Ibiki could last for long if we subjected him to his…own emotions…"

"You have an idea?" Anko asked curiously, sliding off her seat on the bridge to stand closer to Kurenai as she whispered their new plan into the woman's ear. All passersby could see were two jounin standing very closer together, evil smiles coming to their faces as they talked quietly to each other.

--kuku…let's check in on Iruka now…fast forwarding a few days…--

Iruka dipped his chopsticks into the mildly warm broth, every now and again coming up with a soft noodle balancing on the pieces of wood. The whitish strips slid off of his chopsticks and landed back into their broth with a small splash. Iruka didn't stop playing with the bowl of cold ramen until he felt multiple pairs of eyes on him. The chuunin looked up and blushed slightly when he saw the ramen stand's owner, the man's daughter, and Naruto staring at him with raised eyebrows.

Iruka chuckled nervously as he let go of the chopsticks and folded his fidgeting hands in his lap. "Iruka-nii…Daijoubu ka?" Iruka smiled softly as he bowed his head before looking over to his 'foster son/brother.' Those blue eyes captured Iruka's and the man found himself chuckling at the worry clearly visible in their almost impossible color.

"…I'm fine, Naruto…I was just thinking…" Iruka replied truthfully. The boy had actually been the one to insist they go out for ramen and Naruto had yet to explain why he had demanded ramen. Usually, it was just because Naruto loved mooching off his favorite teacher, but at times like this, Iruka could tell there was something the boy wanted to talk about.

"About Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, surprising Iruka with his intuition. The older shinobi bit back the arising nervousness as he nodded his head slightly. He couldn't lie to the blonde and, even if he tried, Iruka wanted to talk to _someone_ about this and he couldn't think of anyone better than his favorite student. Well, besides Kakashi himself of course, but that was out of the question.

"…we had a…talk the other night…we decided that things would be better if we just…stayed friends," Iruka said, trying to distract himself by starting to eat his, now, cold ramen. Naruto saw through his ploy and pulled the bowl and chopsticks away from Iruka before the man got a chance to eat any of his food. Iruka kept his eyes glued on his pilfered ramen bowl and utensils, knowing that if he looked directly at Naruto, he would have to spill everything and the man knew that, if he did that, Naruto would most likely go off and confront Kakashi for his shy teacher.

"What did that idiot say?" Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka could see Naruto beginning to roll up his sleeves, which got the chuunin to chuckle slightly. Naruto was always someone to who would 'fight now, ask questions later.' It was a good thing that Naruto was this way…Sasuke had the same life philosophy. That reminded Iruka of what he originally wanted to ask his favorite blonde about.

"…so, what happened between you and Sasuke?"

"…nothing…why do you think something happened between us?" Naruto replied a little _too _quickly…a little too defensively for Iruka to ignore it. The older man pulled his eyes away from the bowl of ramen and studied the boy's face. Naruto's round features were etched with a barely contained pain. With a second glimpse, Iruka knew it wasn't a physical pain, but an emotional one, which was even worse in Iruka's mind. He brought up a hand and rested it on Naruto's shoulder as he gave the boy a supportive smile. Naruto's façade broke with that gesture of comfort and the boy's amazingly blue eyes filled with tears as he flew into Iruka's chest.

Iruka had been anticipating this so he only slightly fell out of his stool when Naruto collided with him. The ramen stand's owner, having gotten used to this years ago, simply turned and walked to the other side of the counter to give Iruka and the sobbing blonde in his arms some privacy. Iruka tightened his arms around Naruto's shaking form as he thought of everything that Sasuke could have possibly done to get Naruto to break down like this. Short of actually trying to kill Naruto, Iruka couldn't think of anything Sasuke could do to hurt the blonde like this. _…that idiot…he doesn't even realize how much Naruto cares for him…_ With a sigh, Iruka slowly pulled Naruto off of him and gave those teary blue eyes a gaze that told Naruto he needed to explain himself.

"…w-we got into a big fight…I…we…he used his Chidori against me…and I used the Rasengan…we nearly killed each other…and Sakura-chan…" Iruka nearly fell out of his chair when he heard that. To Naruto, nothing was more important than protecting those closest to him. It was no wonder the event upset him so much. Not only had he nearly killed his best friend and love interest, but also the most important female to him. The thought of Naruto killing Sakura and Sasuke made Iruka shake slightly. The boy would have probably killed himself (if Sasuke's attack hadn't) if something like that did happen.

"…what happen-"

"Kakashi-sensei stopped us before we hurt anyone…he threw us into two water towers…Kakashi-sensei…he was really mad at us…and Sakura-chan…she was so scared…I didn't mean…to…hurt anyone…but…Sasuke…he…I heard Kakashi-sensei tell Ero-sennin that Sasuke's mad that I've improved so quickly…then, I went and told Sakura-chan to stay out of things between me and Sasuke…I hurt her feelings…"

"Daijoubu, Naruto…give it a few days and I'm sure everything will be back to normal…" Iruka said softly, patting the boy's soft hair. _Kuso…why were they both taught such dangerous jutsu…I know it was to protect Naruto against that gang, Akatsuki…but Sasuke shouldn't have been trusted with something like that…he's too unpredictable…he could harm everyone in the village if he ever turns like his brother did…_Iruka thought, but immediately regretted that thought. He didn't want to judge the boy on what his older brother had done years ago and, when Sasuke had entered his class, Iruka had promised not to be prejudiced against the boy, but some things were predetermined. Iruka always sensed something different about Sasuke, but never was able to place what it was until he heard Naruto's retelling of that day's events. The boy had no loyalties to anyone…he wasn't connected to the village like everyone else. He didn't hold people in high enough regards because of his terrible childhood. Sasuke's entire mind - his reason for existence - wasn't _normal_. Iruka foresaw the trouble Sasuke and Naruto would have the second he heard that they were going to be put into a team together…but the Sandaime insisted on that pairing, so Iruka bit back his retort and agreed to the old man's 'recommendation.' Iruka rubbed Naruto's head again as he realized that, besides the blonde on his lap, there wasn't much keeping Sasuke _human_. If it hadn't been for Naruto, Sasuke would have been as unemotional as his silver-haired sensei, but Sasuke would have just surpassed Kakashi in his coldness because the jounin actually _cared about_ the village and had learned at an early age the price of protecting those he cared for. Sasuke never had a special person that wasn't lost on that one terrible day.

_Sasuke would have been…a normal kid if it hadn't been for that day…_Iruka realized, a sad smile coming to his face as he shifted into a more comfortable position as Naruto slid off his lap and back onto his own chair.

"…I nearly killed _two_ of my precious people, Iruka-nii. I don't think it's ever going to be normal again…" Naruto stared at the floor, unable to raise his gaze enough to look at the chuunin in the eyes. He took a deep breath, tightening his fingers into fists that shook as Naruto replayed the feeling of the Chidori coming so close, ever hair on his body stood up as their tips became singed from the sheer power behind that attack. He shivered, remembering the look in Sasuke's eyes as they drew closer to each other, aiming their equally deadly attacks at each other. _Sasuke had no regret…no fear…no emotion in his eyes except hatred…even when we realized Sakura was going to be caught in the attack…his expression didn't change…he really is…heartless…_

Iruka watched as his favorite blonde's eyes began to fill up with tears again. It didn't take Iruka more than a second to realize what had passed through the boy's mind. "…Naruto…don't live with regrets…If you love Sasuke…tell him…I'm sure he'll warm up to you in time…" Iruka ignored the voice in the back of his head that told him what a hypocrite he was. _Kakashi and my case is entirely different…I'm sure Sasuke feels _something_ for Naruto…and, if not, Naruto could find someone else easily…it's just puppy-love with them…_

"…what about you, Iruka-nii…you and Kakashi-sensei are going to stay _friends_? I saw what you two were doing that one day…how could you suggest something like that?" Naruto asked curiously, trying to change the topic as he waved the ramen stand's owner over to get a new bowl of ramen.

"…actually…Kakashi suggested it…I-I just…agreed…" Iruka felt his body shiver as a slight fear overtook him. He didn't' know why he felt so _afraid_ all of a sudden, but he was sure it had something to do with Kakashi.

"…Naruto…Iruka-sensei?" The chuunin spun around in his chair and plastered a smile on when he saw Sakura standing there, curiously eying the pair. From the look on her face, Iruka knew something was wrong and that she needed to talk to Naruto. He patted Naruto on the back as he stood up and paid for his and Naruto's ramen.

"I'll talk to you later, ne, Naruto?" Iruka said softly to the boy before he turned to leave. It hurt to desert Naruto at a time like this, but Iruka knew that Sakura could do more for the boy than he could do right now. He smiled softly as he watched the pair exit the ramen stand and followed them out. With that thought in mind, Iruka bade a quick farewell to the pink-haired girl and started heading back home with hopes of having a _long_ bath when he finally got there.

--Kakashi's turn! YOSH!--

Staring at his shaking fingers, Kakashi bit his lip. He hadn't been able to stop trembling since he had spoken to Sasuke earlier about giving up on revenge. Kakashi knew he was right to say such things to the boy, but he couldn't ignore the feeling that he had just made things worse. _Neither of us have any people important to us…I told him all my important people were already killed…his entire family was killed…we're exactly the same. _Kakashi ignored the small voice arguing that thought. They weren't the same. Kakashi would give his life to protect the village, while Sasuke was obviously going to do something that would result in his betrayal. _…but what could he do? Everyone worships the Uchiha line…nothing, short of deserting the village, will ever get them to hate him…and not even Sasuke would do that. He has no where else to go…Shimatta!_ Kakashi inwardly cursed, remembering the mission he had been put on that morning. _Four unknown chakra signatures entered the village this morning…I was supposed to find and trail them…but I won't be able to in this state…good thing Tsunade-sama put Gai on this mission as well…he can handle them. _Kakashi looked around the small apartment and sighed as his eyes met the two picture frames. The pictures were so similar, it made Kakashi chuckle dryly. One picture had a blonde man with his hands on the heads of his two male students, the female in the middle. The other, more recent, picture had the same positions, but the man standing there was Kakashi. The three children's expression were exactly the same in both pictures, which got Kakashi to smirk. They were all so similar, even though Naruto and Sakura never met Kakashi's old teammates…or his Sensei.

Kakashi played with the thought that four people he was supposed to be trailing were going to help Sasuke betray the village. He had sensed their unusual chakra as he spoke with Sasuke earlier and, once he left, he felt them move closer to Sasuke. They obviously were following the Uchiha. Kakashi didn't interfere since, in the end, it would be Sasuke's decision and his decision alone whether or not to join them and become a missing nin.

"I hope you make the right decision, Sasuke…" Kakashi whispered softly as he picked up his own cell team's picture. "…like I should have… " With that, the jounin gently set the picture back down and slipped out of his room and went off in search of a certain chuunin who he had yet to talk to.

--kuku, and the plot thickens!--

Iruka took a deep, calming breath as he lowered himself into the wonderfully hot water. There was nothing like a hot bath to drown away your worries and that was exactly what Iruka was planning on doing - until he sensed a change in the atmosphere. Instantly, Iruka knew it was Kakashi's chakra that he had noticed. He nearly sighed audibly as he got back out of the water and dried himself off before wrapping a fluffy white towel around his midsection. He walked out of the bathroom and down the hall, not surprised when he saw Kakashi lounging across his couch with an orange book in his hands. The jounin waved lazily, not taking his eyes away from the book.

"…I heard what happened today between Naruto and Sasuke…" Iruka said softly as he walked into the small living room. He took a few steps towards Kakashi, but stopped when he saw the book in Kakashi's hands trembling slightly. "Daijoubu ka, Kakashi?"

"…I…nearly lost…all three of them…" Kakashi whispered, burying his nose into his porn novel so Iruka wouldn't see the betraying tears slipping out from behind his hitai-ate. Obito always was such a crybaby. The jounin took a shaky breath as he tried to focus on the words of his favorite book, but the words seemed to blur into one large black, meaningless accumulation of characters. It didn't help that the book was shaking so badly that Kakashi could hardly even concentrate on the pages.

"…but you didn't…they're all fine, Kakashi…" Iruka whispered, knowing that if his voice was any louder, the already tense jounin would snap. He took another step towards the man, noticing that Kakashi visible eye was strangely unfocused. He had never seen the man so disturbed and it was unsettling to see that usually cheery eye filled with confusion and a hint of fear. Iruka knelt down so that he was at eye level with Kakashi and slowly pulled the book away from the man. Kakashi let go without even putting up a fight. Iruka immediately realized why. The man's hands were shaking so badly, it was amazing he was even able to hold onto the book for those few moments.

The chuunin set the orange novel down on the nearby coffee table and wrapped his hands around Kakashi's. Iruka studied the man's face, furrowing his eyebrows when he noticed that, not only were Kakashi's hands shaking, but the man's entire body was trembling. "Kakashi…" Iruka tightened his grip on the jounin's hands as he moved even closer to the man.

"…if I hadn't heard Sakura…screaming…all three of them…almost everyone in the hospital…they all would have died…" Kakashi murmured unsteadily, squeezing Iruka's hands as he bowed his head before Iruka would notice the new batch of tears slipping out from under his hitai-ate. Iruka caught the glimmer of liquid, though, and smiled sadly as his grip on Kakashi's hand loosened. The chuunin brought his hand up to Kakashi's chin and lifted the man's head back up.

"But no one was hurt, Kakashi…" Iruka pointed out as he moved his hand over to gently cup Kakashi's cheek as he brushed away the tears before they could be soaked up by the man's mask. "They're just a little shaken up…"

"You…didn't hear him…Sasuke…he didn't _care_ that he nearly killed Naruto and Sakura…he's going to do something…and betray the village…" Kakashi said so softly, Iruka had to slide closer to the man to catch his words. Iruka sighed quietly when he heard Kakashi's comment. It wasn't exactly a comfort to the chuunin to know that his worries were shared by someone like Kakashi.

Iruka was unsure of what to say at that point since he knew very little could calm Kakashi's fears - especially since their feelings about the boy were mutual. _…how did we get stuck with someone like Sasuke…poor Naruto…I don't think he'll be able to handle Sasuke betraying the village…betraying _him_…_Iruka thought to himself, pity for his favorite blonde flooding over him. "We can only hope he makes the right choice…" Iruka finally stated as he bowed his own head, wishing he could believe his own words.

"…he won't…Sound shinobi entered the village this morning…and have been following Sasuke all day…I have a feeling Sasuke will leave with them…" Kakashi mumbled, closing his visible eye as he took a deep breath. "…he's going to become a missing nin…and it's all my fault…"

"Iie! You didn't do anything wrong, Kakashi," Iruka retorted firmly, finally believing in something he said. He tightened his grip around the hand he still held as he waited for Kakashi to react, but the man seemed to ignore him. "…Sasuke has always been like this…there's nothing you could have done…"

"…if I had been a better teach-"

"…you are a wonderful teacher, Kakashi…every time I talk to those three, they tell me how much you've taught them…how much they're improving…and I can tell how much they care for you…" Iruka stated, noticing the small smile that came to Kakashi's masked face. "…you're like a father to them…"

"…some 'father' I am…" Kakashi replied dejectedly. He turned his head to the side, remembering all the times he had ignored his own team, treating them as if they were seasoned shinobi like himself. They were just children, but Kakashi never knew what it was like to be a normal _child_. By their age, he was already becoming a legend throughout the entire shinobi world. He never got a chance to be carefree, childish…normal. Maybe if he had, Kakashi could have related to them…been able to somehow help his students.

Iruka noticed the shiver that passed through the jounin's body as Kakashi rethought his own childhood. The closest Kakashi had ever come to something like this was when he actually lost his teammates, then his teacher. At those moments, Kakashi had been severed from the village for a short while, but he always found his way back home, remembering why exactly he loved the village…why he remained loyal enough that he would die for Konohagure. It was people like Iruka that Kakashi risked his life daily. He wanted to protect those people who could contribute so much…who could brighten anyone's day.

The chuunin caught a glimpse of the change of emotion in Kakashi's eye and one in particular made Iruka's heartbeat quicken. He couldn't place the look, but knew it was something he had seen in Kakashi's eyes before. Iruka, unable to control his own actions, slowly moved his hand from Kakashi's cheek to the man's hitai-ate. He gently slid the metal plate up, revealing Kakashi's watering Sharingan. With anyone else, the ability to cry with only one eye might have been unusual, but Iruka found it oddly endearing. It was a small comfort to see that Kakashi was still, in some ways, human enough to cry.

Kakashi was slightly surprised at Iruka's actions, but was even more amazed when he saw the beginnings of a blush come to Iruka's face. He couldn't help but chuckle at the man's reddening cheeks. There was something about Iruka's displays of emotions that always got Kakashi to feel slightly better about the dismal situations that made up a great deal of his life. A tiny part of the jounin wondered exactly what it was that got Iruka to blush, but he ignored that side of him as he pulled his hand out of Iruka's loosening grasp and caught the chuunin's chin before Iruka could pull away in astonishment.

As if under a spell, Kakashi leaned forwards to capture Iruka's gaping mouth in a chaste kiss. He quickly pulled away when he felt Iruka jerk back. The jounin mentally berated himself for forcing his emotions on the chuunin…_again_, but lost his train of thought when Iruka - with a sensuality Kakashi never knew a human could possess - pulled himself up to Kakashi's face and returned the fleeting kiss. With that tiny gesture, Kakashi felt the last shreds of his self-control slowly begin to slip away.

"Iruka…" Kakashi wasn't exactly sure how to respond to the man's actions. Just a few days ago, Iruka said they were just friends…but he had just kissed Kakashi. In the past, kissing meant nothing to Kakashi, but he knew better where Iruka was concerned. The young man wasn't as flippant with his relationships as Kakashi was, but, with that same token, Iruka had declared their relationship to be one of 'just friends.' _But I was the one who said it first…_Kakashi had to remind himself as he let his hands drop to his lap. Remembering that made Kakashi recall why he had been here in the first place. He couldn't do anything with the chuunin…he had nearly seen all three of his students die before his eyes this afternoon…then have to somehow come to terms with the fact that one of his students was, most likely, going to betray the village. Kakashi bowed his head, keeping his mismatched eyes on his, once again, trembling hands. "…I should go…"

"…stop it, Kakashi," Iruka said calmly when he heard the coldness in the jounin's voice. He bit his lip when he saw the man's body return to its earlier, shivering, state. Iruka knew that Kakashi had started to think about his three students again, but there wasn't much else the chuunin could do to help his friend.

"…stop it? How, Iruka? I can't stop him from leaving…" Kakashi's voice grew steadier as he spoke, but his tone also became even colder with each word. Iruka had heard other shinobi speak in the same manner - it was one of the ways they ignored their own emotions in order to become the perfect ninja - but he had never heard Kakashi use this voice before and, he had to admit to himself, the icy bite in the man's tone was somewhat frightening. Kakashi noticed Iruka flinch slightly at his comment and, the darker side of the man wanted to do it again - to make someone else hurt just as much as he did.

"…no one can," Iruka pointed out rationally, trying his hardest to ignore the shiver that went down his spine when his eyes locked onto Kakashi's. The trembling - the emotion in the man's eyes - everything had disappeared and Kakashi had become statuesque as he glared at Iruka.

"Don't even try to sympathize, Iruka," Kakashi retorted, disregarding the nauseous feeling in his stomach, as he stood up. Iruka followed suit, but Kakashi couldn't help but smirk when he saw the man's head come to the middle of his chest. If Iruka had any ideas of criticizing Kakashi, he wasn't going to do much damage if he had to strain his neck to look the jounin in the eyes. The fact Iruka was only wearing a white towel also didn't do very much for the man's image. "You've led a sheltered life…you don't know what it's like to lose everything…how could you even understand?"

Iruka tried to remain perfectly still, but he couldn't stop from cringing as Kakashi's once calm voice gradually became a shout. He could hear the anger and pain in the man's voice, but he couldn't do anything to calm the jounin down. The man's statement had hit a nerve in the patient teacher and Iruka took a deep breath. Putting on his best 'scolding teacher' face, Iruka looked up at Kakashi and waited until Kakashi was paying attention before he began. "First, Kakashi…you know nothing about me if you think I've lead a sheltered life. I watched both of my parents killed when I was just a child…I was an orphan, with nowhere to go…no family, no friends…I was forced to watch my cellmates die in the chuunin exams and, when I finally passed the exams, I took in the container for my parents' murderer - when I was just fourteen. You may have been a jounin by that age, but I had to keep several jobs _and_ raise a child. And you think that it's your fault Sasuke turned out this way? I've known that boy even _before_ his family was murdered…you didn't have to witness his emotional breakdowns when everyone else feared him…stayed away from him for those first few months. You didn't have to keep the suicide watch on him…you didn't have to force feed him or stay with him until he fell asleep every night…you didn't have to sit back, helpless, and see him become the emotional cripple he is today. You didn't have to see your _son_ fall in love with him and have his heart ripped out…but not be able to protect him…because it's his own choice to love Sasuke…" Iruka bit his tongue, realizing that, at some point, he had begun yelling at the man.

Kakashi hadn't ever heard Iruka use anything close to that tone of voice before - except for against his rebellious classes in the academy - but he knew that not even that yelling matched this. Iruka's voice right now held the same coldness as Kakashi's. It was void of all the pain and suffering that he was talking about, supplying Kakashi with only the anger and bitterness that Iruka must have hidden for so long. He had never been yelled at like that before, especially from someone who wasn't his superior. Not even the Hokage had ever taken on that tone before with him. Kakashi was at a loss for words. He had never been subject to such blind rage from a comrade before - not only a comrade, but a close friend who he _thought _he knew well. _…but I accused him of being weak first…_Kakashi reprimanded himself as he stared into the man's chocolate eyes that reminded Kakashi of dark thunderstorm clouds - dangerous…dark and swirling with a destructive force. They weren't the soft, doe-like eyes Kakashi had come to recognize as the eyes of a gentle, wonderful person. They were even harsher than any jounin or ANBU member's. It made Kakashi wonder what kind of life Iruka had been forced to live…and hide.

"Iruka…" Kakashi felt all of his anger and hatred drain out of him, leaving the jounin completely exhausted as he took a step towards the fuming chuunin. Before Iruka got the chance to back up, Kakashi bent over and rested his forehead on Iruka's shoulder. He didn't have to even look up from his view of the floor to know Iruka's face was etched in surprise. The young man took a deep breath that Kakashi could hear as well as feel as Iruka's shoulders raised up and dropped again.

"…I didn't mean to yell at you…" Iruka said apologetically as he, ignoring the awkwardness of their position, brought his arms up to rest his palms against Kakashi's shoulder blades. He gently rubbed the man's back as he listened to Kakashi's breathing return to something close to normal. If it hadn't been for the fact this was one of the most powerful men in their village in his arms, Iruka might have laughed at their situation. But, as things stood, Iruka knew that, like all shinobi, Kakashi wouldn't be showing this side of himself unless he was extremely close to a mental breakdown. Jounin were legendary for their control over their emotions as well as all other aspects of their lives. But, with that same token, the jounin community was also _in_famous for their collapses. Everyone knew that, when they were in a helpless state like this, it was best to just leave them alone until they had sought things out themselves. Iruka, though, knew that he couldn't leave Kakashi alone…not when he was partially the reason behind the man's current condition.

Kakashi sensed a change in the chuunin and he couldn't help but pull away, his eyes focusing on Iruka's face. He took a deep breath when he saw the understanding in Iruka's eyes. It was the last thing - and the _only _thing - Kakashi needed right now. He brought his hands up to Iruka's face and, before the chuunin's expression changed, he rubbed his masked lips against the brunette's forehead, which immediately broke out in creases as Iruka furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Iruka's mind went completely blank when Kakashi kissed his forehead. There wasn't any of Kakashi's earlier emotions in it - just…gentleness. It was as if Kakashi was trying to thank him for something. Iruka had to lean back slightly so he could see the jounin's face as he stared up at the man. There was something about the man's mismatched eyes that made Iruka's heart to race as he waited to see what Kakashi was going to do next.

The jounin noticed Iruka's curious staring, which got him to smirk underneath his mask. He brought a hand up to the corner of the black material and slowly pulled it down past his chin. Mentally cursing his own lack of restraint, Kakashi bowed his head and captured Iruka's soft lips in a gentle kiss. Kakashi held his mouth against Iruka's for a moment, pulling back when he felt the chuunin's lack of a response.

Kakashi began opening his mouth to apologize, but didn't even get the first syllable out before Iruka stood up on the tips of his toes and kissed the jounin. It was nothing like Kakashi's kiss; it was filled with need and passion…and something Kakashi couldn't place. The jounin happily wrapped his arms around Iruka's waist and pulled the chuunin closer to himself, smirking as he lifted the shorter man up from the ground. Kakashi deepened the kiss before Iruka got the chance to protest being picked up like a rag doll.

He slid his tongue against Iruka's lower lip, begging for entrance, which Iruka happily gave as his hands unconsciously relocated themselves in Kakashi's soft hair. Kakashi couldn't help but groan at the feeling of Iruka's fingers playing with his hair as he brushed his tongue against Iruka's. The chuunin tasted exactly as Kakashi remembered - perfectly additive in sweetness mixed with a hint of saltiness.

Iruka felt his face warm up as realization finally hit him. _Kakashi_, the man who had said they were only friends - and wanted to stay that way - was kissing him with all the fervor of a long-lost lover. Iruka couldn't help but respond with the same amount of passion, loving the way Kakashi's arms tightened around him as he traced every inch of the jounin's mouth. He could feel every muscle in the man's body, despite the layers of clothing between them, but, most of all, Iruka could feel Kakashi's pounding heart rivaling his own in speed and intensity.

The chuunin slowly pulled back, gently grazing his teeth along Kakashi's lower lip, as he opened up his eyes and chocolate orbs met red and black. Iruka would have had to be blind not to see the desire in Kakashi's eyes - along with something that actually surprised the brunette. He could read the jounin's eyes well enough to understand that Kakashi was wondering if he was forcing Iruka into anything. He reluctantly let go of Kakashi's lip and pulled away so that Kakashi wouldn't be able to kiss him for a moment. "…Kakashi…"

"…who taught you how to kiss?" Kakashi asked curiously, smirking when he saw a pink tinge come to Iruka's scarred nose. The chuunin turned his head to the side as he bit back a nervous chuckle. Iruka knew that, if he told Kakashi the truth, the jounin would either laugh at him or not believe him. _Being my age and having your first kiss only a few weeks ago…it's just pitiful…_Iruka thought to himself, not knowing he was smiling at that thought. "…oh, so it's a _secret affair_?" Kakashi's tone became mocking as the jounin let out a chuckle.

_A secret affair…_Iruka thought about that for a moment, then snorted. "I guess…you could call it that…" he replied softly, turning his head to look at the jounin. _Kissing a jounin certainly counts as a 'secret affair.' I don't think Kakashi would believe me if I told him that he's the only person I've ever kissed…_Iruka thought to himself as he caught a glimpse of the humor in Kakashi's eyes. "…what now?"

"…I'm going to find out who this mystery person is and thank them…" Kakashi commented, smirking when he saw Iruka's face shift from a pink to full-blown crimson. "Maa…who is it, Iruka-_sensei_?" Iruka chuckled at the pleading tone in Kakashi's voice as well as the puppy-dog look in his eyes. It was even more pitiful than Naruto's best (or worst, however you looked at it) attempts at pouting. Too bad for Kakashi; Iruka had become immune to such looks long ago.

Iruka swiftly kissed Kakashi before the jounin could start whining again. Kakashi smirked, shifting the chuunin's weight so he could hold him with one arm. With his now free hand, Kakashi wove his fingers into Iruka's hair and held the man's head still as he happily ravished Iruka's lips.

The jounin kept his mind on Iruka's 'mystery lover' as he kissed the younger man, knowing that if he didn't think about _something_, he would find himself lost in the chuunin's kisses and wouldn't be able to stop himself. _…maa, I know it's not any of the jounin…they would have been boasting about it every chance they got…and I never heard Anko or Kurenai talk about any of Iruka's lovers…and they _would_ know…creepy fan girls…_Kakashi thought about that for a moment, remembering what it had been that had gotten him so afraid of a relationship with the young man in the first place. _That's right…Naruto had said Iruka was a virgin…but I never found out if he was messing with my mind or not…little bastard…but even if he's never slept with anyone, Iruka has to have at least **kissed **someone before me…he has a larger fan base than Sasuke, Hyuuga Neji, and that Nara…Shikamaru…**c**__**ombined**…he has to have dated someone when he was a teenager…or in the past few years…_

Kakashi continued to wonder about that as he tightened his grip on Iruka's midsection, taking a step backwards as he did so. Iruka, since he was in the air, didn't notice his movement until Kakashi sat back down on the couch, pulling Iruka down with him. The chuunin 'eeped' at Kakashi's sudden change in position, but didn't complain as Kakashi broke their kiss in order to trail kisses down his tan neck. _Baka…of course Iruka's not a virgin…he's too damn sexy to be one…he knows exactly what he's doing…_Kakashi stated inwardly as he heard the chuunin moan appreciatively. _…but…this isn't what he wanted…is it? He said he wanted to be friends…and I _know_ Iruka doesn't want us to have a 'friends with benefits' relationship…does he?_ Kakashi ignored that little thought as he slipped one hand underneath Iruka's loosening towel to touch his bare skin. The chuunin jumped slightly, but Kakashi knew it wasn't out of surprise or disagreement - but from the fact Kakashi found a sensitive bit of skin on his thigh.

_Are we 'friends' still? _Iruka wondered as he felt a shiver ripple through his entire body, originating in the area Kakashi was obviously having fun brushing his fingers against. _Kakashi still wanted to be friends…and I know…he's had this kind of relationship with…all his jounin friends…at one time or another…but...I'm not like them…_Iruka inwardly shook his head at the thought. He never thought that something like _this_ should be done just for pleasure; there had to be some kind of basis - some shared emotions. _I…I know Kakashi likes me…more than his other friends…it might not be love…but it's something._ Iruka ignored the pang of pain that ran through his chest at the thought of Kakashi only thinking of him as a friend. _…he cares about me…he's kind, considerate…an absolute ass at times…but still very sweet and thoughtful…and he's always watching out for me…_Iruka reminded himself of all the times he found the jounin attempting to _help_. Up until that 'first kiss,' Kakashi all but lived at his house and always made sure Iruka ate, slept, and didn't overwork himself or become too stressed. It was a nice feeling to be cared for by someone else - to know that, besides Naruto and Mizutamari Mari, someone was looking out for him and worried about him all the time.

Kakashi didn't do that for everyone - not even his own 'hellions,' as he called them more than once. That realization made Iruka chuckle inwardly. If Kakashi cared that much about him, it wasn't much of a stretch to say the man loved him. And, for someone as emotionally handicapped as Kakashi, saying that he _cared_ was a very rare thing, especially to such an extent. Iruka found himself being lost in the jounin's kiss as he felt Kakashi's hand slide higher up on his thigh, removing his hand (before Iruka could start blushing furiously) to relocate it on Iruka's waist before continuing upwards, ending up brushing against Iruka's defined chest.

_Baka, baka, baka…_Kakashi mentally berated himself as he felt the chuunin shiver underneath his touch. He hadn't camped out on Iruka's couch tonight for _this_. He had wanted to talk to the chuunin about their relationship, about that demonic chakra, about Sasuke and Naruto's fight…about a lot of things, but Kakashi found it impossible to ignore the urge to hold the chuunin and cover him in kisses. No one had ever had that effect on him before and, with a start, Kakashi pulled away from the chuunin in realization. He didn't just _want _Iruka or even _need_ him as a lover…he had fallen in _love_ with the young man. Not the kind of passionate love that he saw in his friends' relationships, but it was something deeper - more confusing. It was like the emotions described his Icha Icha novels, but amplified to the point Kakashi was certain nothing short of death could pull him away from the young man. That's why, with a sigh, Kakashi removed his hand from Iruka's chest and sat back so their eyes met.

Iruka was unable to pull his eyes away from Kakashi's as he waited for Kakashi to say something. _Does…he want to stop? _Iruka couldn't help but wonder as he searched Kakashi's mismatched orbs for _something_, but found nothing that would reveal what the jounin was thinking about. Then, a flicker of emotion flashed through the jounin's otherwise calm features. Iruka couldn't place it exactly, but knew it was enough to give him hope.

"…Iruka…I…I know we're friends…" Iruka's high hopes dropped quickly with that comment. Friends didn't do things like this…he was sure that was what Kakashi was getting at. The jounin's next statement, though, nearly made Iruka fall out of his seat on Kakashi's lap. "But…if _this_ is…alright with you…I mean…" _Shimatta…how do you tell your friend you…want to fuck him…not only that…but that you've fallen in love with him…without scaring him off? _Somehow, Kakashi was sure that statement, or any single aspect of it, wouldn't help his cause.

Kakashi studied the chuunin's surprised expression while thinking over his current revelation. He not only _liked_ the young man on his lap, but he had somehow, in the months of annoying Iruka to no ends, fallen in love with the chuunin. Kakashi found it slightly odd that he wasn't more, well, _amazed_ with that realization. He never loved anyone, let alone someone in a romantic sense. The closest Kakashi had ever come to feeling this foreign emotion was with Obito - but even that relationship was just the closest of friendships mixed with passion and physical attraction. As Kakashi let Iruka think over his stammered proposition, the jounin realized something. The Icha Icha novels had it all wrong. Love wasn't meant to be some kind of happy, warm feeling you got when you found someone you supposedly 'fell in love with.' Yes, Kakashi had to admit that he did feel a great deal more content when he was in Iruka's presence, but he also felt a surge of pain - both physical and emotional - when he thought about the brunette. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant pain that Kakashi felt - it, more or less, just reminded the jounin how utterly unfamiliar something like this was.

Pain wasn't the only unusual sensation running through Kakashi's body as he impatiently waited for the chuunin's answer. He also, understandably, felt attraction - both physical and mental - a surge of protectiveness, even a slight fear as he studied the chuunin's face for any hints of his ultimate decision. Kakashi always thought of himself as a patient person, but found himself shaking slightly in anticipation as Iruka's chocolate eyes looked at the jounin thoughtfully. There was something in those brown orbs that made Kakashi's heart skip a beat as he brought a trembling hand up to touch Iruka's cheek with the gentlest of touches.

Iruka couldn't help but smile at the fleeting contact. The small action made his face warm up immediately - not 'warm up' in a rise of temperature when he blushed, but more of a sense of bliss that Iruka hadn't known existed until that moment. He might have seemed quite collected to the jounin, but inwardly, Iruka was having the largest mental debate of his life. On one hand, if Iruka was going to act like his normal, calm self, he would politely decline Kakashi and wait until he was sure the jounin felt _something _for him before taking the relationship any further. On the other hand, Iruka wanted to forget his usually serious nature and just go with his emotions and heart. With the smallest of smirks from the unmasked man, Iruka knew his answer. The chuunin's entire body erupted in a fiery heat as he shifted his position on Kakashi's lap, moving closer to the jounin until he was close enough to see every jagged edge of the scar over the Sharingan.

"…Iruka…" The brunette silenced Kakashi's half-assed attempts at a protest with a single smile. Kakashi chuckled softly, wrapping one arm tightly around Iruka's middle as he ran his other hand's fingers through Iruka's unbound hair. He inwardly danced when he saw that there wasn't any indication of uncertainty in Iruka's eyes. Knowing that Iruka wasn't having any second thoughts about this gave Kakashi a glimmer of hope - that there was the possibility that Iruka didn't just see him as a friend. The chuunin brought his head down and brushed his lips against Kakashi's, amazing himself and the jounin underneath him with the mutual shiver that passed through both men from the innocent touch. "…a-are you sure?" Kakashi had to ask as he stared at the blushing chuunin with wide eyes. No one had ever gotten Kakashi to feel like _that _with a single kiss before - especially a kiss as chaste as the one whose tingling aftereffects still lingered on his lips. He took a deep breath, waiting for Iruka's answer as he mentally thought of all the _sensible _reasons as to why Iruka would say no. Kakashi wasn't going to get his hopes up…he learned that optimism could be fatal a long time ago and, ever since then, he always planned for the worst. This was like any mission, in Kakashi's mind. He wasn't going to dream of the 'ifs,' but of the coldness of reality. Iruka was his friend, not someone who shared the same feelings as he did, but Kakashi knew he'd be content with the chuunin's answer, no matter what it was. The last thing Kakashi ever wanted to do was force Iruka to do something he was against.

"…I'm sure," Iruka said softly before tilting his head upwards to gently kiss Kakashi's forehead. Iruka was amazed with the fact his voice hadn't quavered in the least, which would have betrayed the fact he was scared out of his wits. Nervousness had crept into the unsuspecting chuunin when Kakashi had asked him if he was sure - if Kakashi was worrying about Iruka enough to repeatedly ask whether or not something like _this_ was alright with him, then Iruka knew that there was something he had never fully grasped about the whole 'sex' thing. He knew he would be sore, since it would be his first time, but Iruka was sure he'd be fine…so Kakashi was worrying about something else entirely and it made Iruka anxious that he couldn't figure out what that something else was.

He trailed his fingers down Kakashi's green vest, his mind submerged in thought as Kakashi started tracing circles into the chuunin's tanned flesh. _He…he wants this?_ Kakashi nearly fell off the couch with that realization. If Iruka had been anyone else but himself, Kakashi wouldn't have even bothered to initially ask him if any of this was alright with him. He, being his usual self, would have just gone ahead and listened to his body, giving whoever was in Iruka's place a pleasurable experience if they responded to his advances. Since the jounin had yet to have someone refuse him, he didn't know what he would do in any other scenario. With Iruka, though, things were much different. Kakashi knew that he couldn't simply seduce the young man - even if he had wanted to. He genuinely wanted to have Iruka decide their course of action, but didn't want to pressure the young man into something he would later regret.

Kakashi couldn't help but smirk as he lifted his hands up to Iruka's face and cupped the young man's cheeks. He gently kissed the chuunin's lips, noticing how Iruka wrapped his arms around Kakashi and pulled himself flush against the jounin. _…definitely not a virgin…_Kakashi couldn't help but mentally comment as he bit his lip to stop himself from groaning when Iruka _innocently_ rubbed against his already aroused body. The Sharingan-wielder, in order to keep himself _somewhat_ sane as he returned the wonderful pressure, tried to remember the last time he felt like this. His heartbeat had sped up, but not because of the physical exertion that came with sexual encounters…it had done so from the anticipation - the shivers that Iruka's curious hands were producing along Kakashi's spine - everything the young man did only made Kakashi's body react in the most unfamiliar ways.

With the smallest of chuckles, Kakashi remembered the last time he had felt like this - it was his first time with Obito. It had actually been his first time, period, but Kakashi would never admit how afraid he was their first night together. He was the infallible Copy-Cat Nin, Hatake Kakashi. Even though he was only a teenager at the time, without his now famous Sharingan, Kakashi never wanted people to know that _he_ could feel fear like a normal person. He knew how people viewed him - as something more than human and Kakashi knew he couldn't, no _wouldn't_, disappoint them by disproving their opinion of him. If Konohagure's citizens felt safer having emotionless jounin, then Kakashi would hold up that belief as long as possible. It was his duty.

Iruka caught the strange emotion in Kakashi's mismatched orbs and tried his hardest to place it, but couldn't. _What is he thinking about?_ Iruka wondered as he traced his fingers along Kakashi's feminine jaw line. The jounin pressed his cheek into Iruka's hand and couldn't stop himself from sighing in contentment as Iruka brushed his calloused fingers across Kakashi's facial features as he gingerly pressed his lips against Kakashi's. That simple action made Kakashi even more aroused than the jounin ever thought possible.

_Jiraiya-sama is one lucky bastard,_ Kakashi thought to himself as he pulled Iruka even closer to himself, causing the young man's obvious arousal to press into Kakashi's abdomen. The Icha Icha novels described situations exactly like this - down to the smallest gestures and changes in emotions, which meant that the novelist had to have a great deal of experience with circumstances like this. So, it was logical in Kakashi's mind to say that Jiraiya had to be quite in love with someone and spend a great deal of time with her (or him - Kakashi was never sure about the man's sexuality). Whatever Jiraiya did to ensure his long relationship with this person, Kakashi knew it must have something to do with mutual feelings - either that or the white-haired porn writer was even better in bed than any of his avid fans could even begin to imagine.

The jounin couldn't help but remember page thirty-seven of Icha Icha Violence, Volume Two, in the second paragraph, where Samanosuke finally admitted his feelings to Mimi and she initially rejected him by beating the crap out of him, but, after seeing how much of a fight he put up, she began falling in love with him and, by page seventy-six, she finally returns his feelings in the most heated sex scene Kakashi had ever had the pleasure of reading. It was absolute perfection in the perverted man's mind, but it paled in comparison to right now. Kakashi knew that the only reason for that was that words themselves could never capture such emotion and sensations between two people as well as the actual experience.

Kakashi slid one hand down to Iruka's towel-clad behind as the other gloved hand drifted to the chuunin's erection and brushed against the hardened flesh, which elicited gasps and soft mewls from the brunette. Smirking to himself, Kakashi began pooling chakra into his hand touching Iruka's member. It was something that Kakashi had discovered years ago - around the same time he was creating the Chidori - and since then had become famous with the jounin community for that particular ability. No one else had ever figured out to control their chakra well enough that they would do no harm while pumping so much chakra into their hands. It was enough energy to, literally, kill a person (and most of the jounin simply shivered when they imagined what it could do to a poor guy's manhood if Kakashi made any mistakes), but Kakashi had honed this skill to the point he could pump the chakra into his partner's body - giving them a heightened level of pleasure that even Jiraiya would be proud of.

The Copy-Cat Nin had done it many times, so he was understandably amazed when Iruka didn't respond to his technique. Kakashi couldn't help but look down when his jounin senses starting setting off warning bells in his mind. If it hadn't been for his Sharingan, Kakashi was sure he would have missed the small change in Iruka's chakra levels. _…demonic…nani?_ Before Kakashi even got the chance to ask Iruka what was going on, the chuunin wrapped his hands around Kakashi's wrist and removed the jounin's hand completely from his body.

_Kuso…he noticed…I didn't think that little bit of Mizutamari Mari-sensei's chakra would ever show itself at a time like this…_Iruka thought to himself as he pushed himself away from Kakashi. He knew there was no way he would be able to get out of this without explaining himself, but a small part of the chuunin was hesitant to tell someone like Kakashi about his unique abilities - especially when he was so close to someone else who he trusted more than anyone else.

"…what the hell…" Kakashi finally said as he watched Iruka get up and start to move away from Kakashi. The chuunin bowed his head as he readjusted his towel before turning to look at Kakashi. _It's the same chakra I felt before…I thought it was someone else before…but I know this is Iruka…it has to be…so why does he have a demonic chakra?_

"…you should go, Kakashi…" Iruka replied softly before taking a deep breath. _…I was so close…to…doing _that_ with Kakashi…I…I want him…but not like this…I want him to feel something for me…_

"Iie…what was that, Iruka?" Kakashi asked, his voice becoming hoarse as he thought of all the possible reasons behind Iruka having a demonic chakra. _He isn't a monster…he's not like that Sabaku no Gaara…or Naruto…he can't be…_Kakashi almost immediately berated himself for such a thought. In the months of having Naruto as his pupil, Kakashi had gotten to know the boy that he, like all other people, hated simply because of _who_ he was. After their initial meeting - and Kakashi's almost immediate feeling of distain towards the young blonde, the jounin slowly realized that Naruto was nothing like the person everyone made him out to be. The boy was everything that Kakashi would have thought he was incapable of because of his _heritage_ as well as his upbringing.

It was only on that one fateful mission - where Kakashi had finally seen what _true _teammates were capable of - that he ignored his instincts and started to actually _like_ the Kyuubi container. The boy had done everything in his power to protect their team, which had led to tapping into the very power Kakashi feared so in order to 'avenge' Sasuke. Kakashi had to count his blessings after that mission - Sasuke had only been injured, Naruto was able to control the demonic chakra and return to himself, and Sakura had finally begun to realize what kind of life she had chosen. The jounin hadn't thought of Naruto as anything but a shinobi capable of greatness from that day on. For that reason, he couldn't help but be ashamed of himself when he actually considered the boy a monster. The blonde and the brunette in front of him were identical in so many ways, but Kakashi knew them both well enough to be certain they were some of the greatest shinobi to ever be born in their village.

"Kakashi…just leave…" Iruka said softly, his voice betraying the fact he was battling with himself to tell the jounin the truth. _Baka…I'm just making Kakashi more suspicious of me…but…if I tell him…he'll hate me…not even the Sandaime treated me the same as other people…because of my clan's abilities…I don't want to be considered different…not by Kakashi…_

"Iruka…I'm not leaving until you explain why you have a demonic chakra…" Kakashi stated firmly as he slowly stood up from the couch. _I've never heard of a person having demonic chakra…unless they're like Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara…containers…and Naruto is the only container in our village…all jounin would have been informed if there was a second…especially someone as powerful as Iruka…_

"…I'm…I'm not like Naruto, if that's what you're thinking, Kakashi…" Iruka replied almost as soon as the jounin finished speaking. From the mistrust visible in Kakashi's eyes, Iruka had a good idea what he had been thinking and, from Kakashi's reaction of widening his eyes, the chuunin knew he had read Kakashi's mind. "…and I'm not a threat to the village…so…just forget about it…"

"I won't take your word for it…" Kakashi forced himself to say, his hands tightening into fists when he saw Iruka's body tense. He, personally, believed the young man's words, but Kakashi knew better than to base his actions on his personal feelings. Kakashi knew people who were never seen as a threat…so they were the greatest of spies. That, added to the fact that they were in a state of war, made Kakashi very hesitant in admitting to himself that Iruka was right - that it wasn't something to worry about. _He could be a spy for Orochimaru…he _would_ be the perfect person to use in order to infiltrate Konoha…everyone trusts him…everyone knows him…and loves him…but if it was all an act…surely Naruto would have noticed…or one of Iruka's friends…or…me…_

"…The Godaime knows of my chakra…and she trusts me…you can ask her yourself…" Iruka commented, dropping his gaze to the ground. He was no longer able to even look Kakashi in the eye as he prayed the jounin would accept his answer. From the cracking of knuckles, Iruka knew the man hadn't been as trusting as Iruka had hoped.

"I want to hear an answer from you…" Kakashi retorted coldly, bringing a fist up to his chest. His hand was shaking slightly, but not from any other emotion than anger. The jounin could take many things head on, but deceit was one thing that enraged Kakashi like nothing else - short of actual betrayal. That's why, with a deep breath in order to steady his hand, Kakashi charged at Iruka. He noticed almost immediately that the chuunin turned enough so that he could easily dodge Kakashi's punch.

"Kakashi, stop this!" Iruka cried out just as the jounin made a second pass at him. This time around, Iruka wasn't given enough time to move and Kakashi's fist landed into the chuunin's midsection with an echoing crack. Kakashi had to wince at the sound of his attack connecting and the resulting gasp from the brunette. The jounin knew from past experiences that he had to have broken something, but Kakashi knew his own strength well enough to know he hadn't hit hard enough to even _crack_ Iruka's ribs, let alone fracture one completely.

"Iruka…" Kakashi stepped back quickly, his voice filled with horror at what he had done. The chuunin brought his arms up to wrap around his middle as he doubled over. _I didn't hit him hard enough to really hurt him…_Kakashi repeated over and over to himself as he helplessly listened to Iruka painfully gasp for air. "Gome-"

"…yamate, Kakashi…" Iruka said softly between his sorry attempts at breathing. The chuunin hadn't thought Kakashi's attack would have injured him so badly, but, then again, Iruka knew better than to underestimate a jounin's strength. _But…he sounds surprised…so he didn't mean to hit me so hard…_Iruka theorized as he forced himself to stand back up. The chuunin almost immediately let his _in_famous vein pop out when he saw the nearly invisible shadow behind the jounin. Kakashi hadn't noticed the dark shape behind him that had mockingly taken the jounin's form. _Mizutamari Mari-sensei…he didn't have to hit me so hard to get my attention…_

The chuunin could tell from the slight ripple that passed through the dark figure that the demon knew Iruka noticed him and that he realized Iruka wasn't at all pleased. The shadow slowly became solid, its shape becoming so familiar to Iruka, the chuunin found himself blinking in slight surprise. Within seconds, Iruka found himself glaring at himself. The chuunin took a quick glimpse at Kakashi, who obviously still believed he was the one who had hit Iruka hard enough to break a rib or two and was currently staring at his hands in amazement - and repulsion.

"Iruka…I…I didn't mean to…"

"This is just pitiful…" Kakashi nearly screamed like a small girl when he heard Iruka's voice coming from behind him. Instead of the embarrassing cry, Kakashi settled for jumping two feet in the air before whipping out a kunai and spinning around to look at the origins of the voice. For a moment, Kakashi found himself so confused, the time he found out Icha Icha Bleep had been discontinued (after its initial banning in Konoha) didn't even hold a candle against it. He looked from one Iruka to the other, amazed that not even his Sharingan could tell the difference between the two. The only _logical_ explanation for that would be that Kakashi lost his mind or Iruka had an identical twin brother who, oddly, looked _exactly _like Iruka; scar, disheveled hair, slipping towel, and all. Yep, in Kakashi's mind he…well…lost it. The only thing Kakashi had left to figure out was the cause of his slip into insanity. Kakashi mentally nodded his head as he decided he had become insane because he had the demonic trio as his students…and their leader was his current love interest…and their queen, coincidentally, was the current Hokage. Just Kakashi's luck…he was surrounded by evil creatures. "Don't tell me this is one of Konohagure's elite jounin…" Even the other Iruka's voice was _perfect_, even down to the smallest changes in his tone as he spoke. Kakashi closed his biological eye and studied the pair with the Sharingan.

Kakashi found himself staring at identical chakra paths - even down to the mysterious demonic chakra. That put another check in the 'Kakashi went crazy' column. Not even identical twins had identical chakra pathways - they were supposed to be even more unique than fingerprints.

"Iruka…" Kakashi said tentatively as he looked from the newly-appeared Umino to the one Kakashi had been moments away from molesting to the point of no return. The Iruka that had been slightly insulting crossed his arms over his chest while Near-Molested Iruka gave the other a disapproving glare before taking a step towards one very perplexed jounin. And all people living in the hidden villages knew that a confused jounin was a dangerous (and very rare) thing. "…what…who…?"

"Ooh, he's a bright one…" Iruka frowned at Mizutamari Mari, but noticed the smallest of smirks on the familiar face. The kappa would never admit it, but he loved taking on Iruka's form and trying to find out if anyone could tell the difference…it had been a pastime of theirs for years, but this was the first time someone had the chance to have both 'Irukas' in the same room - and, what was better, was that that someone had the Sharingan. Mizutamari Mari had probably just showed up like this to see _how _good their jutsu was. If it could fool the famous Sharingan wielders, then Iruka knew the demon would be giddy for days. It had been a small dream of the water creature to one day find a weakness in every ability, but the Sharingan was the one that had been a conundrum for him. Apparently, though, their identicalness even could confuse Kakashi.

"It's a jutsu, Kakashi…"Iruka tried to explain to the jounin, but knew that he couldn't give too much away or else he'd never hear the end of it from Mizutamari Mari…the kappa had been wanting to test Kakashi's mind for a long time and would never forgive Iruka if the chuunin took away his chance.

"The Sharingan can see through jutsu, Iruka…I…can't…"

"You can't see which one of us is real? Honto? See, I told you that it was worth figuring out how to do it, Iruka…" Mizutamari Mari stated proudly, smirking to himself. Iruka couldn't help but feel slightly confused himself. It was one thing to see oneself in a mirror, but it was another thing entirely to see yourself acting like someone else…and having no control over it.

"I know you're not the real Iruka…" Kakashi retorted, his eyes fixed on Insulting-Iruka. It wasn't even the man's demeanor that made Kakashi slightly doubtful that he was the actual Iruka, but something was _off_ about Kakashi's feelings towards him. It was as though the jounin's heart could tell what his eyes and mind couldn't - which Iruka he really loved.

"But your Sharingan can't tell the difference…very interesting…" Iruka inwardly groaned. Mizutamari Mari's tone told the chuunin that the kappa was quite pleased with himself and would be bragging for weeks. Kakashi caught the haughty sound in the second Iruka's voice and couldn't help but drop his guard slightly. It was obvious to the jounin that the second Iruka posed no threat to his chuunin and that Iruka was well acquainted with whoever he was. Kakashi froze for a moment as he studied the man he knew to be the real Iruka. _My…chuunin…_ He couldn't help but inwardly smirk. He liked the sound of that.

Iruka raised an eyebrow when he saw the smallest of grins cross Kakashi's face. It wasn't like the man's usual smiles, but something that got Iruka to forget breathing as their eyes met. Iruka forced himself to look down, knowing that he would get lost in Kakashi's eyes otherwise. Once Iruka could no longer feel Kakashi's eyes on him, he glanced over at Mizutamari Mari and the demon smiled. The kappa didn't know much about human emotions but Iruka knew he understood the feeling that he could clearly see in Iruka's brown eyes.

_I'm not letting him go…  
_

--kuku…--

Authoress: okay…I'm terrible with the updating thing…but I, currently, have four summer jobs (all are paying for my Yaoi funds…so it's a good thing I get paid about ten dollars an hour…) This chapter was originally going to have another whole part…but I decided to wait until our next chapter to bring in that whole angst-filled-bit…yosh! So, anyways…Greenislovely-san (my amazing one hundreth reviewer!)…please send me an e-mail, review, or whatever…and I'd like to thank everyone for reading so far and I hope you enjoy future chapters! (there will be angst next chapter…so you're forewarned!) Ja ne! And please review!


	10. Dark Secrets

Authoress: woah…I can't believe how behind I am in writing my stories//cries// Gomen nasai!!! I didn't mean to take so long in updating, but…yea…for those of you in college…it's fun when you overload your schedule…and have the cutest boyfriend in the world…and crazy (slightly high) friends…//smiles innocently// …but, let me tell you…that boyfriend is the inspiration for my overturned leaf in Yaoi-dom! Yep…for those of you who have read Heosic-chan's story **Jealousy Is So Troublesome **(we're writing that bit together…if you haven't read it yet…what are you **WAITING **for?! …it's so gooood!)…yea…those lil' lemons of mine…thank my boyfriend for those…//smiles perversely// so, now that I've explained that bit…I'd like to thank everyone for their amazing reviews so far //cries to self// I never thought this story would become so popular!!! It has inspired me to finally get my behind into motion and (one day) finish this bit in a whole looooaaad of smut! Kukuku…

Tina-chan: T.T Poor Iruka… so sad! And the villagers are ass holes. twitches But Mizutamari Mari rocks!

Iruka:…eep…

Authoress: now, on to the disclaimer!!!

Disclaimer: ...hush you...//sniffles// I know I don't own Naruto...and if I did...//dies from sudden nosebleed//

Chapter Ten

Iruka sighed for what seemed to be the thousandth time as he stared up at the ceiling of his room. It had already been nearly two hours since Kakashi had left, confusion and slight distrust in the jounin's eye. Mizutamari Mari had also vanished, leaving Iruka alone to his thoughts.

_Kakashi…he took Mizutamari Mari better than I expected…_ Iruka's eyes traced the small cracks in the ceiling, trying to remember when exactly the thought that he should introduce his best friend to his teacher came to him. A small part of him knew that he should have done so sooner, but that betrayed look in Kakashi's eyes as he exited in a puff of smoke said otherwise. _Kakashi would have been better off if he didn't know anything_, Iruka said to himself, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

There was nothing he could do to make it up to Kakashi. He lied to the one person, besides Naruto, who ever meant so much to him. _But I couldn't really just tell him outright…'oh, and by the way, Kakashi…I have demonic chakra because I'm a monster…'_ _He wouldn't have believed me…and even if he did…he wouldn't trust me again…_Iruka unconsciously tightened a fist and didn't notice what he was doing until he had felt blood begin to seep between his fingers. The chuunin lazily looked down at his hand, just barely able to see the dark red rivulets running down his hand and onto the bed. It didn't hurt like it should have. The only thing Iruka could feel was a sick sense of enjoyment as he watched the dark stain on his bed grow. From the way his hand was bleeding, Iruka knew he had to have cut down to the bone.

_I really am a monster…Kakashi was right to not trust me…_Iruka thought to himself, his eyes fixed on the pool of an indeterminate color spread out across his once immaculate bed. _Even if I tell him…he won't believe I can control myself…just look at how he acts around Naruto sometimes…_Iruka reminded himself, sighing again. He had tried his hardest to ignore the way Kakashi was slightly nervous around the blonde ball of energy, telling himself that he was imagining everything.

But that look in Kakashi's eyes tonight told him he was just deluding himself. _Naruto and Sasuke nearly killed each other…but Kakashi seems to blame Naruto more…maybe because Sasuke reminds him of himself…iie…that's not it…he fears what Naruto could do if he loses control. He'll just fear me if he knows what I can do…he would never respect me…_

Iruka slowly opened his fist, his curious gaze turning into a glare when he saw that, as soon as he pulled his fingernails out of his palm, the wounds closed up immediately. It was another one of Mizutamari Mari's ideas. When Iruka was still a child, just after the Kyuubi attacks, the kappa placed the jutsu on him so that Iruka could never harm himself. It was a good idea at the time - Iruka had been on a suicide watch for a few months after he lost his family, but no one ever caught him gouging out his own wrists, plunging any sharp implement he had into his abdomen in a distorted version of hara-kiri. The shinobi watching over him only found blood-soaked blades surrounding the unscarred boy, who wouldn't explain what happened to him.

The jutsu had saved the brunette's life when he was younger, but it didn't help him now, when all he wanted was to be normal - able to harm himself without healing just as quickly as his blonde brother. It was just another thing that would make Kakashi trust him less.

Iruka brought his healed hand up to his face and ran his blood-coated fingers along his scar. It was the only injury Iruka had ever given himself that stayed with him. Every other scar disappeared in time, leaving a barely noticeable line in its wake. Iruka almost smiled when he thought of how clumsy he was when he was a child. To think that he could throw a blade, created from water, forwards, yet it flew backwards and sliced him across the face. It was one of the first jutsu Mizutamari Mari taught him, but after that incident, Iruka never used the water-based scythes. Of course, the kappa and Iruka kept the reason for his scar a secret from his father, who would have stopped Iruka's instruction if he knew his son had hurt himself.

_I miss them…_Iruka thought to himself, remembering the way his father had always scolded him for being too eager, always falling over his own feet, dropping everything, not making friends when he finally entered the academy. Everything Iruka did was wrong, in his father's mind, but looking back at it, Iruka would give anything to have his father's guidance again or his mother's warm, forgiving smile as she taught Iruka how to cook, sew, apply first aid. It was the first time in years that Iruka consciously brought the memories of his parents to his mind. _If only I had been strong enough to help them back then…_Iruka thought to himself, blinking back the watery tears that had come to his eyes as he pictured his parents the last time they were together…smiling, laughing at Iruka's latest story of clumsiness, congratulating him for staying at the top of his academy class.

--flashback--

"Perfect scores! Yo kata, Iruka-kun!" Iruka blushed as his mother pulled him into her chest, squishing his small body into her massive chest and protruding belly as she swung him around. When she finally let him go, Iruka wobbled backwards, trying to rid himself of his dizziness. Iruka turned slightly in just enough time to catch the proud smile on his father's face. It was almost immediately replaced by the stoic expression Iruka was used to. But, for a moment, he had seen his father way pleased with him.

"Can I go play with Mizutamari Mari-san, Tou-san?" Iruka asked eagerly, remembering that his father had promised that he could get another lesson out of the kappa if he did well in his classes. The usually unemotional man let a small smirk come to his face as he silently nodded his head, then waved for Iruka to go outside. "Yosh!"

Iruka flew out of the small kitchen, hugging the slip of paper in his hands. He knew the old kappa would beam proudly when he showed him his grades. All those extra tutoring sessions with the demon really had helped Iruka out on his math tests. Iruka slid to a stop as he hit the muddy shore, his sandals slipping in the wet clay for a moment before he righted himself. Remembering the complicated summoning jutsu, Iruka called for Mizutamari Mari. The boy watched as the ground shook, waves forming in the lake in front of him. That didn't happen before when he summoned his demonic teacher. Iruka felt the ground shake more forcefully, throwing him onto his behind in the mud. Iruka glanced up at the house, his eyes widening when he saw the dark figure looming over his home.

_Nine…nine tails…_Iruka counted the waving tails on the backside of the massive creature just to keep his mind away from those red, evil eyes. His heart pounded as he remembered the stories of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. _But it's not real…it's just a fairytale…_Iruka repeated over and over to himself as he picked himself back up and, keeping his gaze away from those haunting eyes, ran back towards the house.

Pumping his small legs as fast as he could, Iruka reached the top of the hill in record time, but froze when he saw what was happening on the other side. From his vantage point, Iruka could see the majority of the village, which seemed to be swarming with black figures - shinobi. There were so many, Iruka was dumbfounded momentarily. He never imagined that the village had so many ninja. He forgot about his amazement when he saw the fires erupting throughout the village, spreading from one building to another so quickly that Iruka knew that there was no way to stop it. He ripped his eyes away from the destruction below him to watch as the shinobi of the village ran in the same direction, towards his home. Iruka froze, remembering why he had run towards the house in the first place. He turned slowly, noticing a warm breath sliding down his neck. The only thing he could see as he turned around was a massive red eye, filled with hatred, and the largest fangs Iruka had ever seen.

For what seemed like an eternity for the boy, Iruka looked at the creature's face, a small part of him wishing he had the courage to reach out and touch the reddish fur, already soaked with blood. It looked so soft… Iruka involuntarily stepped towards the demon's head, so close now that he could smell the stench of rotting flesh on the monster's breath, he could see tattered pieces of a shinobi's uniform caught in its teeth, a hitai-ate hanging out of its salivating mouth. Iruka, taking a deep breath, lifted his hands up and placed them on the kitsune's blood-coated nose.

For a moment, he could see surprise in the demon's eyes, which was almost immediately replaced with anger. Iruka felt something wrap around his waist and forcefully pull him away from the demon. Still hypnotized by that gaze, Iruka didn't realize what was happening until the demon was out of sight. The brunette looked up at his savior, recognizing that blonde mass of hair immediately. Despite the respect Iruka knew he should show towards the tall man, he began squirming, using all the "bad words" his mother had washed his mouth out before.

"Iruka-kun! You will stay here and not move until someone comes to get you," the man said, seriousness in his deep voice. Iruka felt his feet touch the ground again, at which point he moved away from the man and searched the area for his parents. His eyes widened when he finally found his parents' profiles, along with hundreds of other shinobi, surrounding the demon he had just been touching.

"Let me help, Hokage-sama!" Iruka retorted, tightening his small hands into fists. The man brought a hand to his face, making the blonde look back at him. It was the first time Iruka ever saw that sad smile on the man's usually bouncy expression. The powerful man had been nothing but ecstatic since he found out about his wife's pregnancy…

Iruka didn't realize it until the man turned around and ran back towards the demon that he couldn't move. Iruka screamed, but found that no sound came out of his mouth. He watched, despite the fact he could still move his head and eyes, as half the group of shinobi erupted into flames. Their screams echoed in Iruka's ears long after their charred bodies fell to the ground in lifeless piles.

Iruka was close enough that he could see his sensei was standing at his father's side, both males' hands were moving so quickly, Iruka could only catch half of the signs they were making. Those few that he could see were enough for Iruka to understand what was going on.

_IIEE!!!_ Iruka tried to scream, but could only hear the screams of the dying as he watched his father dig his feet into the soft ground, calmly bringing his hands to his chest as the kappa next to him mirrored his movements. The demon, seeming as though it finally noticed his father's presence, turned and dove towards the ANBU member, but froze, like almost all of the still-living shinobi, as the air around the two turned a pale blue. Iruka recognized it immediately as chakra, but it didn't behave normally. The usually airy substance was _sharp_, spiking outwards as it swirled around the man's body. As the chakra took on a jagged appearance, it started to darken to black.

Iruka felt the tears slip down his cheeks as he watched his father throw his hands forwards, a black substance erupting from his open palms. The screams of the dying faded away as Iruka was forced to listen to his father's cries as the black chakra shifted, swirling around his arms before flying at the kitsune. Iruka couldn't take his eyes away from his father as the man's screams became louder.

The once black chakra started to turn red as the brunette watched his father's skin begin to crack and peel away, leaving bloody flesh that, too, was torn away as the chakra swirled around him. Iruka tore his eyes away from the skeleton of a man, looking up at the demon as the dark red lines of chakra held it still. It snarled as it shifted, shaking off more than half of the chakra binding it.

Iruka knew enough of chakra to know his father, even with the kappa at his side, wasn't powerful enough to hold the demon down. It was only when the demon let out a haunting screech that Iruka saw the chakra had taken on a brighter shade of red and had started to thicken, as though more energy was being fed into it.

He glanced back to his father, his breath catching in his throat when he saw his mother's form, her fingers digging into his father's arm, or at least what was still left of it. The pale blue chakra of her body quickly turned to a dark red to match his father's. Her wails were far worse than anyone elses as she fell to her knees, still holding onto the ANBU member's arm with one hand, the other clutching her round belly.

Iruka forced himself to watch as her flesh was stripped away, leaving an unrecognizable mass of red and white. The brunette closed his eyes as she let out a scream that echoed through the village. Then, there was a silence that was even more painful than those screams.

After what felt like forever to the boy, he slowly opened his eyes and didn't try to hold back his tears when he saw all of the bodies littering the area where the Kyuubi no Kitsune had stood. It was the mound of white bones that caught his attention most, though. Iruka, realizing he could move again, raced towards the pile, dropping to his knees when he saw the two adult skeletons, stripped clean of all flesh. Iruka gently trailed his fingers along the bones of the tiny form that hadn't even fully developed yet. He felt his eyes start to dry as he lifted the little skeleton into his arms, trying to imagine what it would have looked like.

Iruka knelt there, surrounded by the remains of his family, for hours. No one had the courage to go to the boy, their minds still plagued with the images of what his parents had been capable of - they couldn't help but imagine what he could do.

--end flashback--

Iruka wiped away the few tears that had come to his eyes. It had been a long time since he relived that day in such detail. If he hadn't been so weak, he could have helped his family - maybe even saved his little brother or sister. Iruka had, for a long time, forgotten that his mother was pregnant, blocking out the memories of holding the skeleton of his sibling. It wasn't until Iruka saw that little baby - a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, giggling baby - that he remembered his own sibling. The day he first saw Naruto, playing by himself near the monument dedicated to all those lost in the Kyuubi attack, Iruka knew that he and the boy held something in common.

The few people paying their respects to the dead had glared at the little blonde with a hatred Iruka had never seen before. He had stopped a few of the boys from throwing rocks at the baby only by putting himself between them and the blonde. It wasn't until a while after that day that Iruka realized who Naruto was. Despite knowing what Naruto was, Iruka still went and visited the baby at the Hokage's Tower on a daily basis. The old man was pleased that Iruka could still care for the energetic baby, despite the fact he knew that Naruto held the demon that had killed his parents. Perhaps it was because Iruka had always cared for Naruto that he was allowed to adopt him at such a young age…

Iruka took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he glanced over at his dresser. He smiled when he saw the pictures of Naruto as the boy grew up. Iruka couldn't help but love the blonde; Naruto was just like him - he lost his parents in the Kyuubi attack and was seen as a pariah afterwards. Of course, people started to look at Iruka as a normal child after some time, but Iruka never fit back in with everyone else. Not after that day.

_I wonder if Kakashi was there to see…my parents die…he was a jounin by then…he must have been in the village when the Kyuubi attacked…_Iruka thought to himself, wondering why the jounin hadn't realized that Iruka's parents were the ones that held the Kyuubi down long enough for the Yondaime to seal it in his newborn son.

Most people in the village forgot what his parents did because they didn't want to imagine that a demon could actually help seal another. To them, all demons were evil and should be destroyed. Iruka closed his sore eyes, blinking away the last of his tears, before he let himself fall asleep.

--hmm…on to Kakashi!--

Kakashi looked down at Pakkun, wondering why his nin-dog was growling again. Pakkun had been quite annoyed for their entire mission, but had yet to say anything to Kakashi.

"Nani?"

"You owe Iruka an apology…you know he's trustworthy," Pakkun retorted, glaring at Kakashi a moment before he started sniffing the air. "But he's not going to forgive you after this…you let his favorite student go away on a suicidal mission to retrieve that crazy, spoiled brat…" Pakkun turned and started trotting off in another direction, slowing down just enough to catch the blonde's scent.

"I didn't let Naruto go," Kakashi replied coldly, trying to forget how he blew up at Tsunade when she told him that he had to go retrieve his students…or at least one of them, even if it was only the body. Kakashi had been filled with dread at that statement. '_At least bring Naruto back…dead or alive…_' Tsunade had told him, making the jounin realize just how badly he had messed up in letting Sasuke go off on his own.

"But you didn't do anything to stop either one…" Pakkun pointed out, slowing to a stop as he started sniffing the ground around them. "You'll be lucky if we can find Naruto before he dies…you know he won't stop until Sasuke returns…he'd rather die than give up…"

"I know…" Kakashi said, his voice so soft his canine could hardly hear him. Pakkun let out a sigh, knowing he was being quite harsh on his master. Kakashi had been through enough in the past few days. Between finding out his best friend wasn't exactly the kind chuunin everyone thought he was to learning two of his students were missing, along with a good portion of their friends. Whoever had thought of letting a bunch of genin, led by a newly-appointed chuunin, off on such a dangerous mission was an idiot in Pakkun's mind.

"Look, I know I should have told you about Iruka before…"

"You _knew?!_" Kakashi retorted, losing all of his earlier regret. He glared at the canine, demanding an explanation. Pakkun merely trotted off in a new direction, keeping his gaze away from Kakashi's reprimanding eye. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that Iruka was…a demon!?"

"He's not, Kakashi…" Pakkun replied with a sigh. Sometimes his master was too thickheaded for his own good. He turned enough to look at Kakashi and continued, "Iruka's the last of the Umino clan…he's a case like Naruto…no one talks about it…"

"Maa, I'm a jounin…I'm allowed to know anything that endangers the village…" Kakashi stated, his harsh tone from before slowly fading away, replaced by curiosity. "I never heard of a law to not talk about the Umino clan…"

"Do you remember his father?" Pakkun questioned, knowing that if he gave Kakashi a straight answer, the man would pass out from shock. It was always better to let Kakashi figure things out for himself. "You knew him…"

Kakashi thought for a moment, trying to remember anyone whose last name was Umino. "…He was one of the best ANBU members at the time…I went on a few missions with him…very cold and emotionless, but a great tactician," Kakashi replied, wondering why he had never realized that Iruka's father had been one of the ANBU captains back then. Umino wasn't exactly a common last name in Konoha. "What about him?"

"You don't remember what he did during the Kyuubi attack, do you?" Kakashi gave the pug a blank look that answered Pakkun's question. "He and his wife were the ones that were able to restrain the Kyuubi…"

Kakashi thought for a moment, then it hit him. _I remember someone telling me about some shinobi that were able to hold the Kyuubi off enough for Sensei to seal it…but I thought it was a group of jounin that distracted it…_ "Restrain?"

"Tapping into demonic chakra, Iruka's parents held down the Kyuubi…they were killed by that chakra…in the most horrific way imaginable…" Pakkun replied, trying to block out the image of the pair being reduced to bones. He had been there that day. He had seen Iruka kneel there, stunned, as he held the skeleton of his unborn sibling. It was heart wrenching for anyone who was there, but no one had the nerve to go to the boy, to help him in some way. "Iruka lost both his parents and the child his mother was carrying…he watched them die…"

"I…didn't know…" Kakashi said softly, lowering his gaze to the ground. Iruka had to have been scarred by such an image. To see something like that when he was still a child…no wonder Iruka blew up at him when he called the chuunin sheltered.

"Of course you didn't. No one was allowed to talk about it afterwards…if people knew that the last of the Umino clan was still alive…that his father had been able to control a demon…Iruka would have been killed. After a while, everyone forgot about it…and Iruka grew up with no one distrusting him for something his family had done…" Pakkun stated, noticing the hurt in Kakashi's visible eye. "The few that remembered…they believed Iruka had never been taught his family's Bloodline Limit…no one ever felt a demonic chakra around him or noticed any interesting abilities in Iruka."

"But he was taught…his abilities are amazing, Pakkun…" Kakashi pointed out, following the dog as they trekked through the deathly silent forest. "Do you think Iruka can still be trusted…knowing he has demonic abilities?" He couldn't shake the image of the two Irukas. If Iruka had such control over a demon, he could be seen as a threat to the village.

"He's had the ability his whole life…was he less trustworthy before you knew about it?" Pakkun retorted, getting annoyed with Kakashi's version of 'honest.' The man saw things in black and white, but failed to see Iruka for what he was - someone who had never done anything to the village and never would.

"I don't know…" Kakashi commented quietly to himself, trying to think of a reason for why he should trust the young man. He forced himself to forget the emotions he had towards Iruka, shaking away that little voice that told him what an idiot he was being, and replaced it with the intolerant mindset that he had been forced to learn from an early age. For the first time in a long time, Kakashi could see things clearly without the confusion of his emotions getting in the way. He knew what he had to do as soon as he got back to the village. He couldn't remain friendly with someone who could threaten the village.

--end of chapter ten--

Authoress: Gomen for this lil' bit of side-tracking and for such a short chapter…but I just had the urge to comment on how Iruka and Kakashi are growing farther apart…don't worry…there'll be some good, juicy bits soon//smiles perversely// Thank you everyone for reading, and for being so patient with this lazy author…please review and tell me what you think of the growing problems between these two! (why is it Iruka's becoming so pessimistic…and Kakashi's just being a plain ass?) And I'm so sorry for the darkness in this chapter...things will start looking up soon (but, this is a partially angsty story...so I had to put some depressing bits in...GOMEEEEEEN!)!!


	11. Mistakes

Authoress: Gomen for taking so long in updating…college's being a pain in the arse right now…midterms and the such coming up soon…sooo…anyways…I'll keep my rants short this chapter since I'm so excited to write//smirks perversely// I don't want to ruin it for my amazing reviewers and fellow Yaoi-fanatics…but there shall be some smut this chapter if it kills me (and everyone else in the college computer lab…//smiles innocently//)

Disclaimer: …this is just cruel//cries// I never owned Naruto…could you imagine what I'd do if I did?!

Chapter Eleven (o.O whoa…this story is starting to get long…YOSH!!)

It had been so long that Iruka had been sitting there, staring at his hands, that his entire lower body had lost all feeling and he was no longer able to keep his eyes in focus. From all the visits he made to the hospital over the past few years, everyone working there knew him quite well. The frequent visits would be expected when you cared for the Kyuubi no Kitsune's container and taught a bunch of hyper children to become shinobi, but this visit was vastly different than any other Iruka had ever experienced. Instead of reprimanding the bouncy blonde or one of his students, the chuunin sat in complete silence, remembering all those other visits where he and Naruto ended up laughing at one of their latest pranks, Konohamaru's antics and hero-worship, or Iruka's creative ways of sneaking ramen into his favorite student.

There was no laugher – not even a smile – as Iruka finally moved from his statuesque position. His dark eyes quickly welled up with new tears when he saw all the teens sitting around the room, similarly lost in their own thoughts. What was worse was that not a single one was here for the same reason as him. No one else seemed to care about the bubbly blonde.

"Umino-san…" Iruka, much like the room's other occupants, spun around to look at the tiny nurse slowly walking into the waiting room, the clipboard in her hands starting to tremble. Apparently she wasn't a shinobi since she looked quite startled at the several people spinning weapons around to pass the time. Iruka slowly stood up, keeping his quivering hands together as he followed the petite woman out of the crowded waiting room. As soon as he had passed through the doorway out into the quiet hallway, the nurse turned around and gave the chuunin an odd glare.

"Will Naruto be alright?" Iruka asked hesitantly, watching the woman's face for any hints of his son's condition. The woman was a true professional, though. There wasn't a single emotion playing across her tired features.

"Uzumaki Naruto sustained life-threatening injuries, even considering who he is…when Hatake-san found him, he was half-dead." Iruka's heart plummeted at those words the woman read so calmly off of her clipboard. Kakashi just had to be the one to find Naruto and carry him all the way back to the village. The infamous jounin didn't even have the decency, though, to go to Iruka and tell him what happened – that his old students were in various critical conditions, that Sasuke was gone…that his beloved son was teetering on the thin line between life and death. No, an unknowing Iruka had to be summoned by Tsunade to come in and sign papers for Naruto's treatment because he was the boy's sole guardian. He found out about the other genin when he saw everyone else sitting there, just as apprehensive as he was. No one had seen Kakashi since he brought the blonde in, despite the fact three-quarters of the jounin population were out looking for him in order to find out Sasuke's last location. Tsunade was demanding those jounin not already on missions to find out all they could about the Hidden Village of Sound. Everyone knew that this new driving force was a result of her favorite blonde nearly dying – being murdered, since that's what it should have been called. But no one was calling it attempted murder because of who Naruto was – so many people thought that the village would be better off without him around. Then again, it was Uchiha Sasuke who had nearly killed him – who had betrayed their village – no one could believe that he'd do such things. "Despite his severe injuries that _would_ have killed anyone else, Uzumaki-kun is still alive and recovering quickly."

Iruka drowned out the rest of the woman's words. The knowledge that his son was going to be alright was all he cared about right now. The chuunin couldn't help but imagine how much Naruto's life would improve without Sasuke around to constantly mock him and hurt him in every way imaginable. Almost instantly, Iruka felt terrible for thinking such things. It wasn't Sasuke's fault he understood emotion just about as well as a rock – an icy rock, at that. The raven-haired boy was once one of the sweetest children in the village, rivaling even his bouncy blonde companion, but all of that was lost in one day.

"Can I see him?" Iruka asked softly, still regretting what he had thought about Sasuke. From the frown the woman gave him, she wasn't expecting his question. Apparently she already went over that in her long, and entirely unnecessary, speech.

"Umino-san, I understand that is a difficult time for you, but like I said _before_, we can only allow family members in to see someone in such critical condition. Seeing as you never adopted Uzumaki Naruto, we cannot let you in to see him. I'm sorry, but it is hospital policy." For once, emotion crossed the woman's face, but it wasn't the regret any humane being would have shown from such an injustice. No, she seemed almost pleased at the idea Iruka couldn't see his son because of a small technicality.

Iruka gave the woman a glare that would have had any sane person running. He never formally adopted Naruto because the law stated that he needed to be eighteen. Two years ago, he and Naruto agreed that a piece of paper wouldn't help them as a family. They were already as close as anyone could imagine and didn't want to change it in any way. Anyways, adopting Naruto as his own child would have only made both of their lives even more difficult. Iruka would have become Naruto's father…a pariah to the village. Naruto, on the other hand, would never have been allowed to take his father's classes in the academy because of the school's policy to prevent nepotism.

If it had been any other day…any other circumstance, Iruka would have argued the woman's decision, but he was far too drained, both physically and emotionally, to deal with it right now. Before the woman even said anything else, Iruka spun around and stomped back through the waiting room, gaining the curious stares of everyone in there as he exited the hospital. As soon as he was outside the building, Iruka transported himself home before allowing himself to break down.

--

"You really are an asshole, Kakashi…" Said jounin glared fleetingly at his dog before sighing in agreement. "Really…not even having the balls to tell Iruka what happened…"

"Urusai…" Kakashi mumbled as he lowered his head, letting his chin rest on his chest. Pakkun merely shook his head when he turned around to see the blatant regret in his master's eye. Trotting over to Kakashi, he plopped down on the sitting man's lap, something he hadn't done in years. Unconsciously, Kakashi began petting the small dog. Pakkun didn't have the heart to reprimand Kakashi anymore when he heard the man's shaking voice. "What should I do, Pakkun?" It wasn't very often Kakashi asked for the pug's advice. Then again, it was the first time Kakashi had to lose one of his students, have another nearly die in his arms, and break all ties with his best friend, despite the fact he obviously cared far more for Iruka than he even knew, all within a couple days.

Sighing, Pakkun stretched across his master's folded legs so that those gloved hands would be able to rub his sides. "Talk to him, baka…" Pakkun said gruffly, briefly glancing up at Kakashi when the man stopped rubbing him. Kakashi seemed to be daydreaming from the distant look in his eye. "Oi, did you hear me?"

"…how can I talk to him, Pakkun?" Kakashi asked softly, lifting his head off his chest in order to look over to the polished stone they had been sitting in front of for the past few hours. "I've really messed up our relationship. I can't trust him knowing what he is…"

"…baka…" Pakkun retorted, glaring harshly at Kakashi. His master was rumored to be a genius, but when it came to matters of the heart, Kakashi was even dumber than his blonde student. Pakkun knew that Kakashi's feelings for Iruka hadn't changed. He didn't even need to smell the desire on the jounin, he could clearly see it in everything Kakashi had said and done in the past few days.

The entire trip they took to find Naruto had been filled with brief conversations over what the jounin would do when he got back to the village. Despite all of his tries, Pakkun couldn't get Kakashi to admit how he felt about Iruka, let alone say that he was wrong in mistrusting his best friend. _It's too bad…Iruka was good for him…_Pakkun thought to himself as he slowly slid off Kakashi's lap, purposely kicking his master in the groin as he stood back up.

"Oi, what was that for?" Kakashi asked after a moment of falling onto his side, coughing and gasping for air. Pakkun couldn't help but inwardly smirk at his master's pain. Pain was the one thing that Kakashi knew he could feel and the jounin admitted it freely.

"For being an ass…just go talk to Iruka…he's probably with Naruto at the hospital right now, but I'm sure he won't attack you if you wait for him at his apartment…" Pakkun stated as he meandered off, leaving his master to contemplate his pug's suggestion by himself.

Finally making a decision, Kakashi stood up and started walking in the direction of the Umino's home, unaware of the fact that there was a very pissed off chuunin already there.

--

Kakashi slipped in through the open window, mentally cursing at the chuunin's carelessness. _Really,_ they were in the beginning of a war and Iruka left widows wide open. _Probably left the door unlocked too..._Kakashi thought to himself, not noticing the small smile that came to his face. Kakashi sat down on the windowsill, letting his lanky legs hang over into Iruka's dark living room. For a moment, Kakashi sat in complete silence, contenting himself with the knowledge Iruka had no intruders – well, except for one lazy jounin.

Almost instantly after entering the room, Kakashi regretted his hasty check of the area as warning bells went off in his head. Instinctively, Kakashi leaned backwards as he heard something whizzing through the air. _Shimatta!_ Kakashi inwardly cursed as he quickly jumped off the windowsill and into the seemingly empty room.

"What the hell do you want, Kakashi?" The jounin's eye followed the familiar voice, finally landing on a figure sitting on Kakashi's favorite couch. Kakashi didn't need his sharpened senses from his life as a shinobi to know that something was wrong with the chuunin mere feet from him. Kakashi ignored that little voice in his head warning him as he took slow steps towards the young man, his gaze flickering to the kunai buried into the wall next to where he had just been sitting. Iruka's aim certainly didn't become any less accurate in the dark… "Just leave me alone…"

"Maa…why aren't you at the hospital with Naruto?" Kakashi asked curiously as he continued to move closer to the chuunin. As soon as he finished his question, Kakashi swore that he heard Iruka snarl. "Daijoubu ka, Iruka?" Kakashi took a few more cautious steps towards the young teacher so that he was close enough to see Iruka's face despite the room's darkness.

For the first time in years, Kakashi felt his heart plummet into his stomach. It wasn't a good feeling, especially considering the last time such a thing occurred, Obito was dying… Kakashi fought the urge to go glomp the obviously distressed teacher when he saw the sharp blade Iruka was absentmindedly playing with. Instead, Kakashi only watched Iruka's face, his eye trailing down the tear stains on the chuunin's cheeks.

"Leave me alone, Kakashi," Iruka whispered softly, his brow furrowing in pain as he spoke. Iruka knew that he was far from being in a good enough mood to deal with the apathetic jounin right now and didn't want their conversation resulting in another fight. _Anyways, _Iruka reminded himself,_ Kakashi doesn't trust me anymore…because I'm a monster to him…_

The jounin ignored Iruka's statement and, instead, knelt down in front of the teacher so that he was at eye-level with him. Looking at Iruka's eyes now, Kakashi could see that something had gotten the usually calm chuunin to snap. He slightly doubted that Iruka even realized that he was still crying. For a brief second, Kakashi saw something change in those doe eyes. Iruka sniffled a few times, apparently trying to look at the jounin angrily, but his attempts only resulted in a heart-wrenching pout and hiccup. Before Kakashi could even get a word out, Iruka flew into his chest. Unconsciously, Kakashi wrapped his arms around the young man, letting Iruka bury his face into his vest as the chuunin said something between wails and very colorful cursing.

"…they won't let you see Naruto?" Kakashi asked gently, trying to piece together what Iruka had been telling him from his unusual position in the jounin's chest. He received a jerky nod from the chuunin, who had somehow found his way into Kakashi's lap. Kakashi didn't catch Iruka's full response, only "adopt" and "want." From those two words, Iruka's unusual antics, and the tiny fact that Kakashi had done a lot of background checking on Naruto the day he found out he had a genin team, Kakashi could figure out why Iruka was currently cursing out hospitals and the legal system. _They won't let him see Naruto because he didn't legally adopt the brat…!?_ _Those **pricks!**_ If Iruka hadn't been sprawled across him, Kakashi would have gone straight to the hospital to have a "chat" with its employees. He decided that, as soon as Iruka was stable enough to be left alone, he'd just have to continue that train of thought.

Kakashi didn't even get the chance to voice his opinion since all thoughts of standing up for the blubbering chuunin left his mind when he heard an echoing **_crack_**. That ominous sound was almost immediately followed by a sharp pain across the side of his face. That same sensation spread throughout his entire face as his head spun from the force of the blow.

"Shimatta! What the hell was that for?!" Kakashi snapped as his hands went up to his throbbing cheek. He glared down at the chuunin in his lap, surprised to see the young man giving him an even colder gaze. It was even more bone-chilling than an angry Pakkun, Sasuke, and a few other angst-whore-shinobi all put together… Cursing a few more times, Kakashi watched as Iruka got off of him and slowly walked towards the kitchen. "Oi, I was asking you a question!"

"You were supposed to _protect _them…not let one betray the village and nearly kill his best friend…the only reason Naruto's still alive is because of the Kyuubi…" Iruka stated, stopping his journey to the kitchen long enough to shoot Kakashi another hateful glare over his shoulder. The jounin didn't – _couldn't­_ – look into Iruka's hurt expression. He dropped his head, admitting to himself that Iruka was right. _But he didn't have to hit me so hard!!_

"I know…I failed as a teacher…"

"You failed at being a decent _person_, Kakashi…just because you couldn't relate to Naruto and Sasuke didn't mean you should have ignored it!" Iruka retorted, ignoring the fact Kakashi had been trying to apologize. In the chuunin's mind, it wasn't much of an apology anyway.

"I'm not the one who lies to everyone about what he is…" Kakashi mumbled under his breath, knowing full well that Iruka caught ever word from the tensing of his broad shoulders. Kakashi, forgetting that only seconds ago he was trying to soothe the chuunin, cracked his knuckles as he thought of something that would hurt Iruka just as much as the chuunin's statement did. "You're far worse than me. When the village was attacked and the Sandaime died, where were you? Hiding with children…not using your demonic chakra to save the village. At least I've always _tried_ to help…you're just a coward!"

As soon as he said it, Kakashi wished he could take it back. Everyone always said he had a bit of a problem with "verbal diarrhea," but he never believed them before. It wasn't until he heard the soft sniffle coming out of the chuunin that he regretted every word – and wondered what the hell possessed him to say something like that when he knew that Iruka's current mood was mostly his fault anyways.

"Leave me alone, Kakashi…" Iruka said softly, keeping his back to Kakashi as he spoke. Kakashi could hear a definite change in the chuunin's voice, making him feel even worse than before. Kakashi, for a moment, placed himself with those hospital officials on the 'prick list' he knew Iruka kept in the back of his mind. "…onegai…"

Kakashi stood up silently and, before Iruka realized what the jounin was planning, snuck over to him and pulled the chuunin into his chest, wrapping his arms around him. This time, Kakashi was sure to include Iruka's arms in the hug. He really didn't want to get smacked again. "Gomen…I shouldn't ha-" Kakashi stopped mid-sentence when he felt Iruka lean into him, tipping his head back to rest on Kakashi's padded collar bone. Iruka's head was tilted back far enough that Kakashi could see the fresh tears slipping out of the young man's closed eyes, sliding down his cheeks.

"I should have been helping…I couldn't leave the kids…they were so scared…" Iruka all but whispered as he opened his eyes and looked up at Kakashi. Instantly, Kakashi found himself lost in those doe eyes, unable (and somewhat unwilling) to tear his gaze away. Before he realized what he was doing, Kakashi bowed his head forwards and gingerly kissed the chuunin's soaked cheek.

As Kakashi pulled back from the chuunin, he could see curiosity and confusion in the young man's eyes. "Doshite?" Iruka asked softly, trying to find some kind of answer in Kakashi's visible eye. He barely smiled when he recognized regret in Kakashi's eyes. Iruka knew that it wasn't remorse from the kiss, but what he had said before, which only got his lips to curve upwards a bit more.

The jounin studied Iruka's face, unable to think up of a plausible answer when he saw the small smile on the teacher's lips. One minute ago, they were arguing and, somehow, he ended up kissing Iruka and, miraculously, calming the chuunin down a bit. _I don't feel anything for him…I can't keep doing this to him…_Kakashi repeated several times to himself, but couldn't help but become lost in those eyes. Unconsciously, he tightened his arms around the chuunin as he tried to banish the emotions he thought he had already rid himself of.

"Kakashi…I…" Iruka couldn't even think of something to say as he looked at Kakashi. There was something in that eye that got the chuunin to shiver slightly. He had seen that expression before on the jounin's masked face. Genuine interest and quite a bit of lust played across the jounin's visible eye as Iruka loosened his arms from Kakashi's grasp, turning enough so that he could wrap his arms around Kakashi's neck. _Shimatta…why do we always get into these awkward situations…_Iruka asked himself, jerking back slightly in surprise when Kakashi rested his masked face against his forehead.

"I really am an ass, ne?" Kakashi asked softly, gaining a raised eyebrow from the chuunin in his arms. He could feel Iruka's forehead crease through his mask as well as a light puff of air against his neck as the chuunin let out the barest of chuckles.

"What brought on that epiphany?" Iruka asked, curious what made Kakashi think (and finally admit) that he was a bit of an annoyance to be around. The jounin kept his new headrest, much to the shorter shinobi's annoyance, as he sighed, remembering his _long_ mission with a reprimanding pug.

"Pakkun seems to have taken a liking to you…he prefers you over me…" Kakashi pouted slightly at that, receiving the chuckle he was hoping for. He liked when Iruka was in a good mood – it meant no pain for him. "…he and I were talking about it today…I should have trusted you…and been the first to tell you about Naruto." The jounin kept out the small fact that he was also a bit afraid Iruka would have killed him if he was the first to inform him about his son's condition. "I shouldn't have accused you of being a coward for doing your duty…when the village was attacked…"

Iruka smiled into Kakashi's chest when he heard the jounin's odd form of an apology for the past few days. "Arigatou, Kakashi," Iruka replied, nuzzling his head into the jounin's vest. He never really noticed it before, but Kakashi's distinct scent was addictive to the point he couldn't (even if he wanted to) pull his head away from the jounin's glorious-smelling clavicle.

Kakashi, if it wasn't for the mask on his face, would have borne a resemblance to a tomato when he felt the chuunin press against him. It had been far too long since he had last been able to hold the chuunin like this. For the briefest of moments, Kakashi forgot about his whole mission to rid himself of feelings for Iruka as he opened his big mouth. "Mind picking up where we left off last time?" Kakashi asked, grinning when he heard the chuunin eep softly from in his vest. Having Iruka _innocently_ rub his head into a very sensitive point in his chest was almost more than Kakashi could stand. It didn't help matters (or the growing warmth in his lower body) that Iruka had pulled himself flush against the jounin. For a moment, Kakashi wondered why Iruka's body temperature was always so much higher than his own. He seemed to radiate heat along with another type of warmth that got Kakashi to smirk underneath his mask.

Iruka had frozen at Kakashi's question, wondering what Kakashi actually meant by it. Did he want only want to be friends with benefits or something more? Iruka leaned away from the jounin, accidentally pressing his lower body into an area that _obviously_ didn't need the added pressure. Kakashi bit back a moan as he looked down at the chuunin. Studying the jounin's face for a moment, Iruka smiled. Despite what had happened recently, that same warmth and kindness was still in Kakashi's eye. _He cares about me…maybe it's enough to, one day, become love…_Iruka hoped to himself, standing on his tiptoes to reach Kakashi's face in order to give him a peck on his masked lips.

_…I guess I'll just have to let Ebisu be first to school for once…_the chuunin thought to himself with a soft chuckle as he began to slowly pull the jounin's black mask down.

-(don't worry, the lemon shall be for next chapter!)-

"So, explain this to me again, Kurenai…we're going to use Iruka to get Ibiki…how?" Anko asked as she knelt down on the rooftop next to the other kunoichi. Kurenai held up a finger, gesturing for Anko to be quieter.

"Kakashi has a thing for Iruka, but you know Kakashi – as emotional as the Hokage Monument…so we'll hit two birds with one stone. You and Iruka _pretend_ to date, Kakashi and Ibiki get jealous, admit how they feel…and everyone will be happy…" Kurenai whispered as she crept along the roof with Anko only a step behind her.

"What if things don't go so smoothly…Kakashi might give up on Iruka…and Ibiki probably wouldn't even notice…" Kurenai sighed when she heard the dejection in her best friend's voice. "And why do you think Iruka would agree to it?"

"He and Kakashi are _beyond _in love…it's almost sickeningly cute…but they're both too stubborn to say how they feel…" Kurenai replied as she leaned over the gutters, smiling when she saw that their future comrade's window was cracked open. Using a tiny bead of chakra, she fastened her foot to the roof and slowly walked down the side of the building. She waited until Anko had caught up before peeking into the dimly lit room. She had Iruka's nightly routine memorized – he was sleep by this time every night, so she was dumbfounded when she saw that the chuunin was still _quite_ awake…and not exactly alone.

Anko, wondering why Kurenai had spontaneously begun looking like a beet with a nosebleed, glanced into the bedroom and nearly lost her chakra control. "…is that?"

"Un…"

"And they're…"

"Un…"

"He's not…"

"…" Kurenai whipped a handkerchief out of her outfit and pinched her nose as she studied the obviously preoccupied pair of shinobi. The pale skin of his bare back was a dead giveaway as to who Iruka's partner was, but the two women didn't believe it until they had finished and said pale jounin sat up, unknowingly revealing an unmasked face to the two hidden Yaoi fanatics. "That mask…"

"Should burn…" Anko finished Kurenai's trail of thought as they watched the jounin sit there, obviously studying one very exhausted Umino. The two women tried to remain perfectly silent and not ruin the mood, but when they saw a certain jounin, who was rumored to be emotionless, start gingerly touching the chuunin next to him, brushing hair off of his partner's sweat-coated forehead, Anko had to jump on top of Kurenai and cover the woman' s mouth before she could squeal. After a few minutes of the jounin's ministrations, Iruka finally fell asleep, but the two couldn't pull away from their perfect view of the room when they saw (a _very_ nude) Kakashi get up from the bed and slowly started walking around the room. "What is he-"

"Shh…" Kurenai had to cover Anko's mouth this time as they tried to figure out what the sexy man was doing walking around his partner's room in the nude (not that they were complaining much). The two women were thinking the same thing as they watched the tall man start picking up clothes - all obviously his. Kurenai glanced over at her accomplice, seeing that Anko was thinking the same thing as her. _Kakashi's leaving?_ _That bastard…_ Kurenai had to hold herself back from jumping in through the window and demanding to know what Kakashi thought he was doing.

Being a member of Iruka's fan club, as well as someone her fellow Umino-fans tried setting up with the chuunin, she knew for certain that Iruka was far from an experienced lover. He never kissed any one of those prospective girlfriends, either. It was as though the man was even more naïve than the children he taught. _And look what Kakashi does to him!! Fuck buddies?!_ Kurenai forgot all the romantic ideas she had for the pair of men, deciding that she was right in her first opinion of Kakashi…he could never love anyone, especially someone as sensitive as Iruka. She forgot all thoughts of protecting Iruka's heart and honor when she realized that Kakashi had somehow gotten dressed while she was lost in her thoughts and was now walking towards the window.

Anko quickly pulled Kurenai down past the windowsill, making a few quick hand gestures and giving them the appearance of the wall they were still attached to. It was a bit juvenile and both women were certain that Kakashi would poke his head out of the window any minute and ask them what the hell they were doing there. And they both knew from experience that Kakashi was not a pleasant person to be around right after sex…he was downright bitchy.

Despite the fact they were seasoned jounin, the two women shivered slightly when they heard the window open more and heard something slide out right above them. Kurenai, against her better judgment, looked up at the window and saw that their fellow jounin was crouching on the window, looking straight out as though he couldn't sense their presence only a hairsbreadth below him.

Kakashi sighed softly before leaping off the windowsill and easily landing in the empty street below. Kurenai and Anko watched as he slowly meandered off into the night, waiting until he was far out of earshot before looking at each other.

"…what are we going to do?" Anko asked, her cheeks still a little pink from their peeping as well as her near miss with death. Orochimaru never scared her as much as a pissed off Kakashi…

"We have to do something…Iruka's going to be crushed when he wakes up…" Kurenai pointed out, dismissing the jutsu surrounding them. "I think we should wait until the morning and see how he reacts…he might still want to join us…"

"…have you lost your mind?!" Anko retorted in hushed tones. "Did you not just see Kakashi's just using our Iruka for sex? Why would he want to make his fuck buddy jeal…ou…ooh, I get it…"

"Exactly…" Kurenai smiled despite her favorite chuunin's current position. She motioned for Anko to follow her as she started climbing back onto the roof, her mind already planning out the conversation she would have with Iruka tomorrow…

--

Authoress: Gah! Kakashi's such a prick!!! He seriously does have a problem with saying the wrong thing at the wrong time…then leaving Iruka during the night…tsk tsk…don't worry, I'll go into Kakashi's side of things in a few chapters…he has conflicting emotions…he's not a complete asshole (okay…maybe he is…)

Kakashi: you didn't even write about our first time together…

Authoress: Gomen for not putting the lemon into this chapter…but I was thinking of devoting an entire chapter to their first time…so, in case anyone wants to skip it, they won't be scrolling up and down the chapter…//smiles perversely// I know…their first time was…random?…yea…random…//sweat drops// but emotions were running high…and you've got to remember that these two have been doing this on and off for some time…//squeals// it's about frickin' time they got over the awkwardness and just did it!! Soooo…anyways…thank you all so much for reading and this is just a warning for the next chapter…be prepared for the lemon of the century//pumps fists in the air// YOOOSH!!! Don't forget to review and tell me what you think of their relationship so far!


	12. I Won't Fall Again Caution: LEMON

Authoress: OO I can't believe how long it's been since I last updated!! GOOOOMEEEEEN//cries// I didn't mean to take so long...but I just graduated from high school (as valedictorian, I might add) and that was a time consuming hell-hole...WHY THEY MUST HAVE DINNERS HONORING THE TOP STUDENTS EVERY OTHER FRICKIN' DAY, I'LL NEVER KNOW!!!..anyways...so, I just want to thank everyone for their amazing reviews last chapter...it's so nice to be appreciated!!!

Disclaimer:...ash...if only...//drools//

Authoress: ah, yes...as a warning to everyone who may want to just skip this entire chapter...THIS IS A FULL CHAPTER OF **LEMONAGE**...GOT IT...IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS KIND OF DESCRIPTIVE STUFF, DON'T READ IT!!!!!!!!!..I REALLY DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY FLAMES (unless they're constructive)!!!!...alrighty...//dies of severe nosebleed//...//revives herself with sheer perversity// ON TO THE CHAPTEEEEEER!!!! And, I just want to tell everyone…this lemon is dedicated to my wonderful, amazing, and otherwise perfect betas…you guys make these stories possible!!!

Chapter Twelve

Iruka inwardly chuckled as he slid his fingers underneath the bottom edges of Kakashi's mask. He gently pulled the mask up enough to reveal a small patch of pale skin, which he gingerly pressed his lips against. Knowing Kakashi was extremely sensitive on his neck, Iruka pulled the mask up a little further and brushed his lips against the man's muscular neck. He felt the strong pulse in Kakashi's neck quicken as he flicked his tongue against the jounin's skin. Kakashi bit back a gasp as he tilted his neck so that Iruka had better access. He could tell Iruka had started chuckling at his actions from the hot puffs of air hitting his bare neck. Kakashi tightened his grip on the chuunin, pulling Iruka flush against his body.

From the close contact, Iruka could not only hear, but feel, the jounin's quickening breath as he continued to slide the mask up at a torturing slow pace, making sure to touch every spot on the jounin's neck as he did so. Kakashi was unable to do anything as the chuunin nibbled, licked, and otherwise kissed his way up his neck. Kakashi was trying his hardest not to groan as Iruka stood on his tiptoes, thus pressing himself even closer against the jounin, but lost that battle when Iruka began sucking on an extremely sensitive spot of the jounin's neck right below his jaw line.

"I-Iruka..." Kakashi panted, fighting his instincts to seek revenge on the young man for getting him to beg. _I'm not going to go too fast and scare Iruka again..._Kakashi reminded himself as he did his best not to become lost in the sensations Iruka was evoking as he continued to slide the mask up Kakashi's face while kissing the man's jaw. Once Iruka had finally pulled the mask entirely off Kakashi's head and the piece of material, along with his hitai-ate, fell to the floor, Iruka stopped his sensuous attack long enough to glance up at Kakashi. Taking in every feature on the man's handsome face, Iruka smiled and couldn't help but feel lucky.

Kakashi was paralyzed by that single glance, unable to pull his eyes away from Iruka's gaze. There was something about the way the Umino was looking at him that got the jounin to unconsciously smirk, which in turn only made the smaller man give Kakashi one of his smiles. Kakashi had to bite his lip to stop himself from saying something corny about how beautiful Iruka looked when he smiled, but the jounin inwardly admitted the truth of that statement. If anyone else saw Iruka...knew him like Kakashi did, they would never be stupid enough to let the young man out of their sight.

"What's wrong, Kakashi?" Iruka asked softly, hoping that Kakashi hadn't rethought his earlier proposition and was having second thoughts. Even the patient chuunin could only take so much hesitation. Kakashi, without so much as another word, tightened his arms around Iruka and lifted the small man to his chest. Before Iruka got the chance to cry to be put down - and, more than likely, hit the jounin - Kakashi pressed his lips against Iruka's. Instantly, Kakashi realized how much he had missed that salty flavor that he knew to be particular to Iruka. He continued to hold the younger man against his chest, brushing his lips against the chuunin's until Iruka opened his mouth slowly. His languorous speed wasn't due to hesitation, but knowing that Kakashi was an impatient person, especially when it came to matters such as this. For making the teacher wait so long, Iruka was going to take his time and torture the jounin a bit. He pulled away from Kakashi's soft lips and studied the jounin's face for a moment, knowing that Kakashi would take his actions as uncertainty.

Before Kakashi was able to 'maa' curiously, Iruka wrapped his arms around the jounin's neck and wove his fingers into Kakashi's silky hair. Remembering all the times Naruto used his Sexy no Jutsu, Iruka (while trying to keep a straight face) imitated his favorite blonde as he looked up at the silver-haired man. "This isn't a one night thing, right?" Iruka asked slowly, his tone all too seductive for the already needy jounin. For a moment, he wondered where Iruka had learned to talk like that, but pushed the thought aside when he realized that the chuunin wasn't going to continue their rendezvous until he answered the question. Kakashi quickly shook his head, having not heard what exactly Iruka said over the beating of his own heart. All the man knew was that nodding his head positively wasn't the answer Iruka was looking for. And Kakashi had learned far too well that he didn't want to annoy the chuunin...especially when he was so close.

Smiling at Kakashi's answer, Iruka kissed the tall man, only meaning for it to be a gentle, teasing caress. Kakashi, though, had other plans as he easily walked a few steps forwards while holding Iruka in the air, passionately kissing the younger man until Iruka had to pull away in order to breathe. Seeing the faint blush on Iruka's tan cheeks, Kakashi smirked before pressing the chuunin up against the wall he had been walking towards only moments before. Iruka didn't even get the chance to squeak in surprise before Kakashi rested one hand on the wall above Iruka's head for support, then proceeded to ravish the poor chuunin's lips. Every soft pant and moan that came out of Iruka only made the jounin more daring as he gently bit down on the man's lip, sucking it apologetically when Iruka groaned in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Kakashi slid the hand that wasn't being used to balance himself up Iruka's back to the chuunin's neck. He tilted Iruka's head back as far as he could before beginning to trail kisses down the young man's neck - all while making sure to leave some noticeable marks in his wake because he was sure Iruka had already done the same to his neck.

Iruka tried to ignore the amazing sensations running through his entire body as Kakashi continued to attack his neck, knowing that if he let himself fall under the jounin's spell, he wouldn't be able to stop Kakashi – if he ever _wanted_ to, that is. At the moment, though, stopping was the farthest thing from the chuunin's mind. That mind-set strengthened as one of Kakashi's hands slid down to the brunette's chest and abdomen and came to rest on Iruka's hip. The chuunin shivered, amazed that he could feel the jounin's soft touch even through his thick jacket.

Kakashi felt the gentle quiver of Iruka's body and couldn't help but smirk. Apparently Iruka was just as sensitive as him, if not more so. Using this knowledge to his benefit, Kakashi stepped in even closer to the young man and pressed his body against Iruka's, capturing the smaller shinobi between him and the wall. Which was harder really depended on the teacher's definition…Kakashi smirked at the perverse joke, receiving a raised eyebrow from the flushed chuunin. He simply pressed his lower body against Iruka's and, from the outright blush on those tan cheeks, Iruka understood his line of thought.

"Hentai," Iruka panted softly, trying to hide his embarrassed blush as he involuntarily returned the pressure while burying his head into Kakashi's neck, kissing the jounin's already marked skin. Remembering his earlier plot, Iruka smirked as he brought one hand to rest on the zipper of Kakashi's jacket while the other travelled a bit further down.

The jounin couldn't stop himself from bucking slightly when Iruka's hand unabashedly grabbed his posterior. He was so caught up in concentrating on that hand clamped on his behind that he didn't realize what else Iruka was doing until he heard the almost inaudible _zziip_.

Iruka grinned at the jounin as Kakashi looked down at the jacket starting to slip off of his broad shoulders. Before Iruka got the chance to register the new glint in the man's eyes, Kakashi gracefully shrugged the jacket off and, without warning, threw Iruka harder against the wall while simultaneously lifting the younger man up. To keep himself from falling back down if the jounin was to lose his hold (not that Iruka thought Kakashi couldn't hold him up), Iruka wrapped his legs around the jounin's middle. It took a moment of studying their new positions for Iruka to realize what they were doing and for the deep red blush to set in.

Kakashi chuckled softly when he saw the pink tinge on Iruka's cheeks become a bright crimson. He gently bit his lip, thinking about how cute Iruka was – and how that adorableness was positively seductive in its own way. Kakashi forced himself to refrain from thinking about how Iruka's age was a definite reason for that innocence. If he thought about it too long, he knew he would start seeing himself as the creepy old pervert…just like his favorite author. Not that he disliked Jiraiya in any way, but the old man gave him the creeps sometimes. The fact that he wasn't too sure where Jiraiya drew his boundaries in his personal relationships always have him shivers. No one was safe from the Sannin.

Trying to push the image of Jiraiya out of his mind (it wasn't exactly Kakashi's idea of a fantasy), the jounin smirked at the chuunin. _All mine…_Kakashi thought to himself as he felt Iruka's muscular, long legs tighten around his hips. Licking his lips, he hoisted Iruka up a little higher so that he could sufficiently ravish the brunette's lips. In all his years of experience, Kakashi had never been so taken by a single person's distinctive kiss, male, female, or otherwise,. Iruka was different from everyone else. He kissed softly, yet fiercely at the same time, teasing Kakashi's libido as he grazed his teeth across every accessible inch of the jounin's mouth. He was gentle enough to not draw blood like some of Kakashi's more…passionate partners, but rough enough that Kakashi knew that he would have a serious battle for dominance if it came down to it. Of course, Kakashi didn't really care who was being submissive to whom at the moment. All he focused on was the mastery Iruka exhibited as he brought the jounin to moan with a kiss that, from anyone else, Kakashi would have considered minimal foreplay. In retaliation, Kakashi gingerly touched the chuunin's legs, remembering from previous times how sensitive Iruka was there.

Iruka couldn't bite back to gasp as Kakashi's hands began caressing the sides of his thighs. As the jounin's hands slowly rose higher and higher up his legs, the silver-haired pervert becoming bolder by the moment, Iruka found himself involuntarily weaving his hands into that soft hair, deepening the already amazing kiss. The very few parts of Jiraiya's books that he read (in his defense, he was only doing it to understand his students and Kakashi!) had never described a kiss like this.

Giving into that little voice in the back of his head, Iruka let go of his worries over their odd relationship and all other cares he had been thinking of in attempts not to become a slave to his own hormones. All that trying was worth nothing as soon as Iruka let go and, for the first time that night, was unable to think of anything except the jounin pressed against him. Iruka was, almost instantly, acutely aware of the fact that the jounin was built like no other. His entire body was solid, not giving way as the chuunin tightened his grip in Kakashi's hair, tilting the man's head back as he sat up straighter, for once having the height advantage. Moaning softly into Kakashi's mouth, Iruka savored the jounin's unique flavor. It was something that no words could accurately describe, but Iruka didn't want to spoil the moment by even trying to place what exactly was familiar about the taste on the jounin's lips. Iruka couldn't help but chuckle as the jounin echoed his moan, pressing him even closer against the wall. Kakashi's hands slid against his legs and torso, leaving a burning, yet pleasurable, sensation in their wake despite the layers of clothing between them.

Kakashi had to pull himself away from the chuunin before he became lost in their kiss. Iruka looked at him curiously, taking deep breaths to steady himself. Trying to ignore the quickening pace of his heart, Kakashi glanced down at the chuunin's body and could clearly see the rapid rise and fall of Iruka's chest. Thinking about his own mode of undress, Kakashi smirked and looked back up to the chuunin wrapped around him.

"Maa…" Kakashi mumbled softly as he bent his head low enough to grasp the vest's zipper between his teeth and pull down as far as possible. He reluctantly let go of the small piece of metal and glanced up at the chuunin, a tinny flavor filling his mouth. Iruka, shaking his head at the jounin's actions, loosened his grip around Kakashi's midsection and gracefully put his feet back down on the floor. Before he got a chance to take the jacket off himself, Kakashi bent down and continued his previous actions. As soon as the zipper reached the bottom of the vest, Kakashi wrenched his head to the side, forcing the jacket open.

As he slowly stood back up, Kakashi slid one hand underneath Iruka's tight-fitting shirt and rested it against the chuunin's abdomen. He smirked as he felt the young man's middle break out in goose bumps and the rest of his body shiver. Kakashi continued to move his gloved hand up Iruka's front, taking the man's shirt with him, as Iruka tried desperately to pull it back down. For a moment, the two shinobi battled over the small piece of material silently. After a few upward tugs that were met with resistance, Kakashi snuck his other hand into his kunai pouch and pulled out one of his duller blades. Moving his hand so quickly that Iruka didn't have a chance in defending himself, Kakashi sliced the shirt up the middle, being careful not to nick the chuunin.

The now tattered shirt was quickly forgotten as Iruka huffed in protest, glaring at the kunai in Kakashi's hand. Smirking, Kakashi slid the blade back into its pouch and, from a few more cold glances from the brunette, begrudgingly removed the pouch completely and flung it backwards. Noticing that Iruka's glare didn't weaken in the least, Kakashi sighed and proceeded to slowly remove all the weapons he still had on him.

Kakashi couldn't help but feel naked as the last of his defenses was thrown out of his reach, making a soft _clang_ as the shuriken landed on, what sounded to be, a couch. He inwardly mourned as he looked around the dark room, burning into his mind where exactly he had thrown everything. He had learned early in his sexual life that, if he wanted to keep the most important part of his body, he had to be able to defend himself as soon as he woke up in the morning – even if he was rudely awoken by a kunai to his groin. Of course, he hoped he didn't have that same kind of experience with Iruka. Anko was a unique case, but then again, the jounin could only guess what Iruka – both a prankster and an amazingly powerful shinobi – could do if he was pissed off and Kakashi had the misfortune of still being asleep. Hell, Kakashi didn't want to know what Iruka could to do to him if he was pissed _period_. Kakashi had the feeling that, even if he had all his weapons at his disposal, he would still have quite a run for his money if Iruka felt like beating the ever-loving crap out of him.

For being forced to remove every weapon on him, Kakashi wrapped one arm around Iruka's waist and tightened his grasp so that the young man couldn't break free. He then started to untie the chuunin's pants, smirking when the chuunin tried to squirm his way out of Kakashi's grasp. After a moment of futile tugging, Kakashi gave the knot a death-glare before giving Iruka a curious look. _Damn knots…who ties their pants in a knot?!_ Kakashi had to ask himself as he came to rest his hand between Iruka's legs, putting enough pressure on Iruka's _quite_ noticeable arousal that the young man gasped softly before he lost the ability to regulate his breathing.

Trying to put words to the new sensations running through his lower body, Iruka bit back a moan as the jounin teasingly slid his fingertips along his erection, moving so slowly that Iruka couldn't help but whimper pleadingly. The jounin glanced back up at him, raising an eyebrow playfully. Inwardly Iruka pouted at his own inability to say no to Kakashi as he fumbled to untie his pants. Of course, how could he say no when the jounin was mercilessly toying with him with such experienced hands.

Kakashi inwardly pouted when he saw how quickly Irkua was able to untie the knot from hell. Before the jounin continued his earlier plan to remove Iruka's pants completely and have his way with the brunette, he remembered the remnants of the chuunin's shirt and, with the speed their village's jounin and ANBU were known for, tore off the rest of the tattered material along with Iruka's vest. He flung the pile of oddly heavy clothing, wincing slightly when he heard the projectile hit (and probably crack) the chuunin's coffee table. Whatever Iruka had in that vest of his, Kakashi really couldn't even begin to guess. From what he had heard from Naruto on their many, _many_ long missions together, the chuunin was overly prepared to the point no one could ever think of something he didn't have on him at any given moment. Having also spoken to some of the shinobi who worked with Iruka, Kakashi knew it to be true. And that fact, to the usually unprepared jounin, was almost eerie.

Before Iruka got the chance to reprimand the jounin for throwing his clothing everywhere, Kakashi covered his pouting lips with his own and began to kiss the chuunin to the point Iruka couldn't remember why exactly he was trying to be mad at the silver-haired pervert. Not that he was really mad in the first place. He never really did like that table too much. He only kept it because it was one Naruto had picked out and bought Iruka with his own money for his birthday one year (weeks prior to that birthday, the chuunin had been complaining he needed a new table after Naruto "accidentally" fell through the last one). Kakashi then proceeded to, while still kissing the poor chuunin senseless, start sliding the semi-tight pants off of Iruka.

Iruka would have tried to fight back – just to save some honor and dignity – but at the moment he wanted his clothes off as much as his horny partner did. But, by that same token, the emerging pervert in the chuunin wanted Kakashi to be in the same mode of undress. He pulled away from Kakashi's lips, which almost immediately dropped down to the chuunin's already marked neck and began gently sucking while still trailing his fingers along the loose waistband of Iruka's pants. Without warning, he slid his hands underneath Kakashi's shirt and pulled it, and the net-like undershirt, off before Kakashi pulled his attention away from the chuunin's neck and (now) bare hips to notice what was going on.

He gave Iruka's neck one last lick before standing up straight and looking down at the chuunin's torso. Any male shinobi would kill for a body like Iruka's, Kakashi decided as he tried to ignore the tinge of envy. After all his years of training, he had yet to find such definition in his own muscles. Then again, Kakashi theorized, he was one to go binge eating after a good training session. _But Iruka eats rameeeeeen!_ The jounin's inner-child whined as he let one of his hands slip out of Iruka's pants long enough to trail up the brunette's solid abdomen.

Kakashi smirked inwardly when he tore his gaze away from the chuunin's beautifully sculpted middle and noticed the slight drop in temperature. It took him a few moments of looking down at his bare chest to raise an eyebrow and wonder how Iruka was able to accomplish such a feat without him feeling his shirt coming off. _No wonder he was able to steal Gai's spandex that one day…_Kakashi thought to himself, trying not to relive those painful memories of seeing his smiling "friend" as nude as the day he was born. It was an image no one, even those deserving of the worst forms of torture, should ever see. He shivered momentarily both from the chill air and the thought of a naked Gai.

Iruka, noticing Kakashi's shiver, stepped closer to the silver-haired man and wrapped his arms around his neck. Pulling himself up so that he could reach the taller man's mouth, Iruka gingerly brushed his lips against Kakashi's.

_Shimatta…_Kakashi inwardly cursed as he felt the chuunin "innocently" rub himself against him. No one had ever been able to get him this aroused while still having some of their clothes on. Then again, no one (besides Iruka) had ever gotten out of Kakashi's grasp so many times. He smirked at that thought, remembering all the times he had watched Iruka. Although only recently had he begun worrying Iruka was able to sense him all the time, Kakashi had been content to sit in a nearby tree, building, etc. so that he could see the chuunin. It didn't matter what Iruka was doing (but one of those days when he had caught Iruka in a small towel right after a shower was his favorite), just that he could see the young brunette. And, when no one else was around, Iruka smiled in such a way that Kakashi's heart began to beat faster. He wasn't sure if those smiles were because Iruka knew he was there or not, but, either way, he would give anything to see another one of those smiles.

Kakashi almost laughed at his (somewhat stalker-like) actions. He knew it would be considered quite creepy to anyone else, but they couldn't know how Iruka had changed his life. They couldn't understand how, when he barely survived some difficult mission Tsunade sent him on, the only thing on his mind when he just dodged an otherwise deadly kunai was the chuunin. The image of the brunette with a bright smile on his face as he spoke gently to his students always flashed through his mind instead of the old question of, if he didn't make it this time, what they would put on his grave. Powerful shinobi? Beloved teacher? Friend to no one? Last of the Hatake clan?

The jounin rested his head against Iruka's neck, trying not to think of how pitiful he was. No one but the brunette knew him past his perverted, secretive nature. The young man was the only person, besides his broken genin team, who would be able to think of anything to say about him at his funeral. And Kakashi knew that, if it came to that, Naruto and Sakura would probably be able to think of something nice to say, but the whole time, they would be inwardly laughing at him as he was placed in his grave.

Before Iruka noticed his momentary change in mood, Kakashi gently kissed his neck and wrapped his arms around the teacher. Squeezing the muscular brunette, Kakashi nuzzled his head against Iruka's collarbone and took a deep breath. No one else had ever made such an impact in his life and, as he listened to the young man's rapid heartbeat, Kakashi knew he couldn't imagine what his life would be like if he hadn't annoyed Iruka the first time they met. Not being able to find a friend in the unlikeliest of places, not having that sense of contentment and security when he was around the brunette…it would have been a grim future.

Quickly getting himself back into his previous mind-set wasn't difficult for the jounin. All he had to do was look at the chuunin's flushed face and mode of undress. The fact that the young man's pants were, though untied, still hanging around Iruka's hips teased the jounin to no ends. The chuunin's soft panting only added to the speed at which Kakashi recovered. The jounin, without looking to the brunette for acquiescence, dipped his fingers underneath the temptingly loose waistband and the thin material beneath that and let the tips of his fingers explore the smooth skin that he, quite often, dreamed of seeing. Iruka shivered slightly at the unexpected, but quite welcome touch, which only egged the jounin on in his actions.

Kakashi smirked softly as his still-gloved hand slid lower into the chuunin's pants, smirking against the chuunin's neck as he felt a completely different texture. Unlike some of his other partners, Kakashi didn't wonder if all of Iruka's hair was the same color, yet the (large) perverse side of the jounin couldn't help but point out that he should still check and make sure. With that thought, Kakashi used his free hand to slide the remainder of Iruka's clothing past his hips. Kakashi couldn't stop himself from staring as he continued to pull the chuunin's pants down further, revealing what he knew to be the most perfect lower body to exist. He watched in fascination as his fingers, which had started to have a mind of their own, gingerly touched the chuunin's member, noting how Iruka gasped audibly at the lightest of touches.

"Ka-kakashi…" Iruka whimpered softly, praying that the jounin wouldn't stop this time. For all the awkward conversations with Naruto over the blonde's latest dream (and what he had to do in the morning to even leave his small apartment), Iruka never imagined that such a simple touch could feel so wonderful. He felt the jounin lift his head off of his chest, giving his already marked neck one last lick before Kakashi stared up into his face. If the circumstances were different, Iruka probably would have laughed at how silly Kakashi looked as he tried to keep his left eye closed. Instead, he found himself only able to look into Kakashi's natural eye, losing himself in the man's dark gaze that never shifted from his own eyes.

"You're really sure...about this?" Kakashi forced himself to ask, wondering why he even did so as soon as he said it. If Iruka answered any other way than what he was hoping for, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. He had never given any of his other partners so many chances to back out or to even set the pace, but Kakahsi couldn't imagine ever trying to force Iruka to do something he wasn't ready for. He lifted his hand off Iruka's erection, not wanting the chuunin's answer to be one based off of carnal need. He had far too many experiences with that…and the morning after wasn't particularly a pleasant one.

Trying to bite back a whimper as those amazing sensations running through his body abruptly stopped, Iruka thought about Kakashi's question. He smiled at Kakashi's question, seeing in the honest concern in his eye. "Positive," he replied softly, knowing that the only reason Kakashi asked was because he cared enough about him to worry about his emotions – and not simply the ones that he was only starting to become familiar with. He slid his arms around Kakashi's middle and, keeping his arms loose around the jounin, stood up on his tiptoes to kiss the man's delicate jaw line, chuckling softly when he felt the prickle of Kakashi's stubble against his lips.

For the first time, Iruka didn't fight as the older shinobi lifted him up into his arms as if he was a small child. As Kakashi slid an arm underneath Iruka's knees and shifted the younger man's weight, the jounin brushed his lips against Iruka's slightly parted lips. The silver-haired pervert didn't have to look away from Iruka's gentle eyes to know the young man was blushing faintly. No one else could ever get Kakashi to smile by simply blushing. Then again, no one ever knew when he was smiling; they could only judge from his one eye, which seemed to have a mind of its own sometimes. Kakashi couldn't stop himself from gently kissing the young man, quickly deepening the kiss as he continued to walk forwards. From all the time he had spent in the chuunin's apartment, Kakashi didn't even have to consciously think of where his feet were taking him as he carried the brunette to his bedroom.

Kakashi didn't take his eyes away from Iruka's, but still got the feeling he always got when he was around the room. To the jounin, who by profession had to be constantly on guard, the seemingly harmless room had a wrong feeling to it. It felt too clean, too organized; as though there was something that the brunette had gone to great pains to keep hidden from the rest of the shinobi world. Kakashi had to always remind himself that the young man was entitled to his secrets, just like everyone else. It just seemed to him that, for someone like Iruka who could make anyone feel at ease, the chuunin shouldn't need to hide anything. _But you're the one who had problems accepting what Iruka is…_Kakashi reminded himself, knowing that he had berated himself enough times for having acted as he had when he found out about Iruka's unique abilities. If one of Iruka's best friends had, even for a short time, hated the young man, it was no wonder Iruka kept his deepest secrets well hidden from the rest of the world. _How many people would shun Iruka if they knew what he was? No one would trust him around their children… _Realizing this, Kakashi felt a whole new wave of appreciation for Iruka's friendship. The chuunin trusted him enough to reveal his abilities to. Kakashi knew he didn't deserve such trust, but was beyond grateful for such a precious gift.

He tried to hide his growing admiration for the strong chuunin as he regrettably pulled away from their brief kiss in order to gingerly lay the brunette on the unwrinkled sheets. The mattress made a soft creaking noise as the jounin knelt down on the bed next to Iruka and slowly pulled his arms out from underneath him. He brought one hand up to the man's face and gently cupped his cheek as he brushed his lips against Iruka's. From that one chaste action, Kakashi could feel the chuunin's heart beat faster. It was either the chuunin's or his own; Kakashi wasn't too sure at the moment, since he was more concerned with the image of the nude man sprawled across his own bed, his breathing becoming hitched as Kakashi's other hand roamed down the muscular ridges of his abdomen.

Kakashi almost lost all self-control when he heard the younger shinobi whimper softly as his fingers barely touched his swollen member, then continued down Iruka's inner thigh. "Onegai, Kakashi…" Iruka whispered wantonly as he brought his own hands up to grasp Kakashi's wrist and guide the older man's hand back to his lower body. If Iruka could have thought somewhat straight at the moment, he probably would have been amazed with his bold actions, but as of right now, he didn't care what he had to do as long as the jounin didn't stop what he was doing.

Kakashi bit back a groan when he heard Iruka pleading with him. That, added to the fact Iruka had somehow let go of his wrist with one hand in order to start sliding the jounin's pants past his hips, was almost too much for him to take. Kakashi got up off the bed long enough to slip out of the remainder of his uniform, then was laying back down on the bed next to Iruka. Even though he had originally told himself that he wanted to take things slow and let Iruka set the pace, Kakashi found his body acting on its own accord and, within seconds, he had placed himself between the chuunin's muscular thighs. Without giving it a second thought, Kakashi pulled Iruka's lower body flush against his, pressing his own erection against Iruka's tight opening. The chuunin momentarily jumped at the new sensation, but was quick to forget about the strange feeling as Kakashi's hand wrapped firmly around his own member.

Iruka had to suck in a gasp of air as the jounin began moving his hand up and down his arousal at a torturously slow pace, teasing Iruka's hormones to the point the chuunin would have done anything to get Kakashi to speed up. Iruka, for a second, remembered all those awkward conversations with Naruto about how sex was supposed to feel wonderful, but when the blonde asked what it really felt like, Iruka couldn't give him a straight answer. Biting back another moan, Iruka tried placing words to how Kakashi was making him feel. Hot wasn't even close to the rise in temperature that he was feeling as he watched the jounin use his teeth to pull off his one plated glove. Kakashi flung the accessory across the room with a quick jerk of his head, then turned back to look at the chuunin underneath him. Iruka gasped softly as he watched the jounin sensuously slip two fingers into his mouth and gently suck. Being a teacher, Iruka had been forced to learn all the "techniques" involved in sex (in case any of his students ever came to him with a direct question that wasn't answered in his _extremely_ quick safe-sex talk with the whole class), so he knew exactly what the jounin had in mind, but it didn't stop him from audibly gasping when Kakashi relocated his wet fingers between his legs, then sliding his fingertips back until he found what he was looking for.

Iruka tried to relax his body, knowing that was what Kakashi was about to say to him. He wanted to do whatever he could to make his first time as painless as possible because he knew the jounin on top of him well enough to know that, if he was sore in any way tomorrow, Kakashi would blame himself and mope around for days. At times, the jounin's attitude was slightly annoying, but Iruka had gotten so used to it, he didn't notice Kakashi's depressive moments as much as he used to. It was simply a part of who Kakashi was and the chuunin knew that Kakashi never wanted to "talk about it" when one of these moods overtook him, so Iruka, for the most part, left him alone.

Ignoring the slight twinge of pain as the first finger slipped into him, Iruka focused his attention on the jounin's other hand, recalling his earlier attempts at trying to put these new feelings into words so that, when Naruto finally did ask (and he would), Iruka wouldn't look like an idiot and mumble as he tried to think of something intelligent to say. As though Kakashi could read his thoughts, his hand started speeding up, releasing a whole new range of sensations throughout the chuunin's already trembling body. Iruka arched back slightly, gasping as something he could only describe as _need_ began building up in his lower body. He was so caught up in the new, exhilarating feelings that the jounin was creating in him that he hardly noticed the second finger slip into him, widening him slowly.

Kakashi had to chew on his own lip to keep himself from getting too carried away as he watched the chuunin writhe underneath him, panting softly as he ran his hand along his length. He had never been with someone as tight as Iruka, so he was trying his hardest to be careful not to hurt the young man as he added a third finger. For a moment, Kakashi inwardly repeated the same question that had been plaguing him for some time now: was Iruka a virgin? From the way the chuunin moaned to the almost unconscious feather-light touches against his own member, Kakashi would say no. The chuunin had to have known exactly what he was doing to the jounin's libido as he toyed with the older man's erection, sliding his fingers across its tip so gently that, if it had been anywhere else on Kakashi's body, he probably wouldn't have noticed it. As things were, though, those gentle touches were more arousing than even the dirtiest Icha Icha movie.

Iruka blushed slightly when he heard the jounin groan, and then glanced down to where his hand had been. Realizing what he had been doing, unconsciously, to the poor silver-haired pervert, Iruka chuckled and applied a bit more pressure, hoping that it gave Kakashi the same kind of sensations that had overtaken him.

Kakashi couldn't stop his lower body from bucking against the chuunin's masterful hand, silently begging for _something_. Kakashi knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to bury himself inside the tan chuunin under him and do what the corners of his perverse mind had been begging to do for the past few months since he had started to get to know Iruka. Another side of him, though, wanted to prepare the chuunin as best as he could. Needless to say, when Iruka shifted his body so that his lower body was firmly pressed against Kakashi's erection, the first side of the jounin's mind won out. As he leaned forwards to capture the chuunin's slightly parted lips in a kiss, he slid his fingers out of Iruka and replaced them with his own member.

While still gently stroking Iruka's manhood, Kakashi wrapped his other arm around Iruka's waist and lifted the younger man up slightly as he pushed himself into that tight entrance. Kakashi gasped as he felt Iruka's body seize up around him, tightening as he buried himself deeper and deeper into the brunette. No one else had ever been like this. As soon as Kakashi felt erection slip into Iruka, he lost all ability to create intelligent thought. The hot, tight muscles that surrounded his member were unlike anything Kakashi, in all his years of experience, had ever felt or even dreamed about. "I-Iruka…" Kakashi moaned, pulling the young man's body closer to himself as he continued to gently thrust into him.

Iruka could hardly even hear the jounin over the blood rushing through his body as he brought his hands up to Kakashi's shoulders, letting one fall on the lanky man's shoulder and the other continued moving upwards to tangle itself into the jounin's hair. He pulled the man's face closer to his own, crushing his lips against Kakashi's as he involuntarily brought his legs to wrap around Kakashi's torso. As he tightened his grip on the jounin's shoulder, which seemed to be the only thing he could do to stop himself from crying out in pleasure, Iruka kissed the jounin with all the fervor their current actions were generating.

Kakashi bucked slightly when Iruka dug his nails into his shoulder, thrusting himself even deeper into the chuunin. Kakashi didn't know exactly what he did to deserve the impassioned kiss afterwards, but he wasn't going to question the chuunin's motives as he pulled his lower body back far enough that he nearly withdrew his member completely. With one glance at the flushed chuunin underneath him, Kakashi lost all the steeled control he had prided himself in all these years and rammed himself back into the chuunin, burying his member completely in the young man.

Iruka unconsciously cried out at Kakashi's change in pace, feeling his lower body give in a way it really shouldn't have to accommodate the jounin's immense size, but his scream was swallowed by the jounin. Even his fingers, digging deeply into Kakashi's scalp and shoulder, didn't deter the older shinobi as he continued. Without even a second thought, Kakashi pulled back and thrust into the chuunin again as he sped up the pace with his other hand. Iruka, for a moment, forgot about the new burning pain in his backside as Kakashi's attention returned to his own erection.

Iruka, with an inward sigh of relief, felt the pain begin to ebb away as Kakashi's movements became more familiar, more predictable, and he was able to shift his own body to meet the jounin with each thrust. As the silver-haired man's pace sped up, so did his hand, which made the chuunin force himself to not ask the older man to stop. Not even the previous pain was enough of a deterrent. Iruka knew nothing short of actually finishing _this_ would satisfy his newfound hunger. "K-Kaka…shi…" Iruka moaned softly into the jounin's mouth, somehow knowing that he couldn't take much more of Kakashi's actions.

Kakashi could hear the need in Iruka's voice, which only egged him on as he continued to speed up, putting more force into each thrust as the chuunin's gasps quickly turned into moans, then outright screams of ecstasy. Kakashi felt his own climax approaching, but was still amazed at how quickly he had gotten to that point. Then again, no one else was as good as Iruka. He had never found anyone who could match his rhythm so seamlessly, knowing exactly how to move to get the jounin to quiver in pleasure, let alone having a voice that put Kakashi's libido into a spin every time he called the jounin's name. The fact that Iruka was so out of breath that he could hardly speak got Kakashi to inwardly beam as he matched Iruka's passionate cries as an almost indescribable heat continued to build up in his lower body.

Iruka felt a distinctive change in the jounin's movements and, somehow, knew that Kakashi couldn't hold on much longer, much like himself. Iruka tilted his head slightly, burying his face into Kakashi's neck as he felt all these new sensations continue to build up inside of him to the point he was positive he was going to explode. Iruka couldn't stop himself from trembling as he felt a new level of insurmountable pleasure wash over him. He involuntarily bit down on the juncture between Kakashi's shoulder and neck as he let out a scream, feeling his body give way as wave after wave rushed through his body, leaving a burning sensation in their wake.

The jounin couldn't stop himself from smirking proudly when he felt Iruka come, coating both of their middles as well as Kakashi's hand with the warm liquid. Kakashi had to admit, he had never seen someone have such an obviously mind-blowing climax that they had actually screamed like the chuunin did (unless, of course, they were a screamer). He had cursed loudly when the chuunin bit down into him, but couldn't be angry with the young man, since that twinge of pain pushed him over the edge and he felt himself come explosively inside Iruka. He had had some amazing orgasms before, but nothing could compare to what he felt as all his energy drained from him and he rode the final waves of pleasure, rocking back and forth inside Iruka until it was over. As soon as he was finished, Kakashi's limbs gave out and he collapsed on top of the chuunin. He didn't have to ask, but he knew that Iruka didn't mind the extra weight for the moment.

Iruka felt his body shiver as the final aftereffects of their encounter left him. He could tell that the jounin was lying on top of him, but he couldn't feel it. For a moment, Iruka wondered if he had, somehow, fried all his nerve endings. Feeling what he had only moments ago, he wouldn't have been surprised. With one deep breath, Iruka closed his eyes and simply drifted into the darkness that was overcoming him.

Kakashi, after several moments of simply lying on his partner, slid off of Iruka and propped himself up next to the chuunin. He was about to open his mouth to ask if Iruka was ready for another go, but froze when he saw that the chuunin had actually passed out. The perverse side of the jounin – in other words, every fiber of his being – cheered at his accomplishment. There were only a few occasions where he had gotten someone to black out after such an orgasm and to do it to Iruka…on his first try, no less…was quite a stroke to his ego.

Although he would have been all for another round, Kakashi was just as satisfied to lay there, watching the chuunin sleep. He smirked as he studied the wisps of brown hair clinging to Iruka's sweat drenched forehead. Being careful not to touch him too much, Kakashi brushed the tendrils of hair off Iruka's face and watched as Iruka's breathing returned to normal and the chuunin drifted into a deeper sleep. Kakashi took a deep breath, feeling a new sensation come over him as he looked at the young man. It was something that he thought he could never feel again…not after Obito… Trying his hardest to dispel the quickening beating of his own heart, Kakashi made up his mind. _I can't do this to him…he deserves better…_

When he was sure a few movements wouldn't wake up the chuunin, Kakashi slowly sat up on the bed and felt an icy dread come over him as he looked down at the bedding underneath the brunette. There was no mistaking the dark stains on the comforter. _I should have been more gentle_…Kakashi thought to himself remorsefully as he gently chewed on his lower lip. He slowly got up, knowing that his previous course of action was right. _I can't be with him…no…it's better he hates me than knows the truth…_

With the speed he learned from years of his rendezvous with other shinobi, Kakashi went about gathering his clothing and quickly got dressed. Before he slipped out of the chuunin's bedroom window, Kakashi took a quick glance back at the chuunin sprawled across his bed. _It's better for you, Iruka…_Kakashi reminded himself as he jumped out of the window and, as fast as he could without getting questioning looks from the various guards on duty, Kakashi made his way towards the only place left that gave him any solace. Even though the dead didn't talk anymore, Kakashi could hear his teacher and friends yelling at him for what he had just done.

_How could I tell him? What would happen if I died? I can't let Iruka deal with that…I won't let him feel that pain. I can't…I won't fall in love again…_

Authoress: yep…//smiles sheepishly// I could have made this lemon much more descriptive…but, since it was their first time, I couldn't put in too much detail…what would I do for the rest of the chapters to this story?! So, anyways…I want to thank everyone for reading so far…I know, it's been a long ride…but we're finally starting to get somewhere…and, don't worry, I'll get to Kakashi's side of things a bit more in future chapters (he really isn't the arse everyone thinks he is…even though he acts like it…constantly)…so, anyways…I hope everyone enjoyed this little treat that is very likely to get me kicked off FFN…so, please, no reporting me…I like it here…it's cozy…//clings to all her stories// and I don't want those deleted….and I'm sure those of you who read through the whole chapter did it for a reason…so don't flame me…unless it's to tell me that Kakashi's still an idiot…then I completely agree with you! Please review and I promise the next chapter won't take all that long…reviews really get the fingers moving faster!!!


	13. For the Best

Authoress//sits down and cracks knuckles// now that I've finally gotten all my final grade for college (a 4.0…yooosh!...now all I have to do is keep it up until I graduate so I can get into med school….), I can write all I want until college starts up again!...which isn't for another month, so there will be at least an update in every one of my ongoing stories…I hope…so, now on to an all new chapter of Underneath the Scars…and I agree with the majority of my wonderful reviewers…Kakashi is such an idiot…but don't worry…he'll learn his lesson soon enough… 

Disclaimer:…alright, now that Christmas is over, I actually own two computers (my laptop and desktop…which I owned before, but now I've got a new flat-screen for the desktop instead of the massive, ancient thing that took up my entire desk before…it's quite nice…)…along with an iPod nano…but no, there wasn't any mini-Kakashi or Iruka in my stocking…so I still don't own any Naruto characters…//cries// that would have been one of the greatest presents…//drools over the thought// imagine what I could do then…kukuku…

**Chapter Thirteen **

--Flashback--

Iruka yawned, trying to hide his action from the rambling demon, but failing miserably when he emitted a loud sigh, thus catching his teacher's attention. "Have you even heard one word I've said, gaki!?!" the demon roared, clenching his fists together. Iruka winced, awaiting the powerful blow that usually came after Mizutamari Mari yelled at him, but it never came. He opened his eyes and saw the demon was seething, but had lowered his claws to his sides and was taking deep breaths to steady himself. "Look, Iruka…I know such situations won't happen for many more years, but you must know now so that you can prepare."

Iruka's eyes widened as he caught tones in his teacher's voice that he had never heard before. Among humans, he knew to name it concern, but demons had no such emotions…especially towards masters they despised. He watched the demon for a few moments, assuring himself that it really was concern that Mizutamari Mari was showing. Trying to remember what exactly the demon had been talking about for the last half hour while the teen sat in the freezing water – another painful part of his training – and realized that the demon's concern wasn't entirely for his master, but for himself.

"Your father was a smart enough human to listen to me when I told him about your family's responsibilities and found an appropriate mate. Not only was your mother strong enough to carry one of the Umino line, but to control the family's abilities as well. Your clan would die out if your ancestors didn't pick mates worthy of the Umino name." The demon shook a sharp claw at him disapprovingly. Apparently the demon had quite a bit of power on earlier Uminos and their marital choices.

"I still don't think it's right for men to give up their own clan names if they marry into our family…" Iruka pointed out, knowing his teacher would combat that response with the fact it was how all the ancient, powerful clans kept their ancestral names over the hundreds of years of intermarrying with other old families.

"Be glad you don't have to make that choice, then, gaki. Unless you marry one of those damnable Hyuugas or, may the gods forbid, or an Inuzuka, you don't have to worry about her demanding to keep her clan name. Those stubborn humans…when your great grandfather actually batted around the idea of mating with the Hyuuga heiress, I had to knock sense into him before he destroyed your entire family. Think of what a Hyuuga would do with an Umino's abilities. They would certainly try to rule all of Konoha! Snobbish, stubborn, and powerful! What a combination in a child!!" The demon actually laughed at that thought. Iruka had to admit that those three terms perfectly described the Hyuuga twins. Even though one was of the Branch family because he was the younger by mere moments, both brothers were quite snooty and not at all modest about their Bloodline Limit. Iruka had been subject to their cruel jokes for many years, along with everyone else's jeering over his orphan status. Most pre-genins and genins thought it was hilarious that he had no family at all, not even siblings or distant relatives to take care of him. They knew nothing about the demon who made sure he ate every day and also found a job for him at an apothecary's that gave him enough money to rent a small room to live in. No one around his age knew of his family's abilities because it had become something of a forbidden topic , so Iruka had to take the mocking and taunts, the bruises and bloody beatings, and everything else people decided he deserved because he was different. The first thing Mizutamari Mari had drilled into his head was to never show his abilities to anyone, not even the Hokage. If people knew that he still continued his family's feared and despised power, he would have to deal with greater problems that just bullies around his own age.

"Sensei, I don't _want_ to marry anyone, so why does it matter so much? I already released you from your servitude, so the Bloodline Limit will die with me anyways," Iruka pointed out, looking down at his hands. For quite some time, he had wondered why Mizutamari Mari still hung around and taught him, even though he had no reason to stay. The demon chuckled and patted him on the head, something he had always done when Iruka was small and the boy said something that proved his human naivety in the demon's eyes.

"Yes, I don't have to train your family any longer, but your family's Bloodline Limit isn't just control over me. You're of the Umino line – the strongest human clan to have existed when the sea-faring villages to the far east still existed centuries upon centuries ago. Your family has always had the control of the sea, the lakes and rivers, and even the weather itself. If I didn't stay here to teach you, you probably would have flooded all of Konohagure in one of your hissy fits." The demon snickered, probably thinking of what a wonderful day that would have been for him. He hated the village with a passion, but Iruka knew that Mizutamari Mari wouldn't have let him accidentally kill so many people. The demon did have a soft spot for the quiet, kind child who had been orphaned because of him and the powers he gave the Umino clan.

"I've never been able to make it rain, Sensei…" Iruka pointed out. It was one of the few things that Iruka had never been able to master in the several years of training with the demon. According to Mizutamari Mari, it was one of the most simple of the Umino abilities, but despite the fact Iruka had mastered things that even his father couldn't accomplish, he couldn't do such a simple thing as make it rain on command.

"Because you know what would happen if you couldn't control it. Your humanity limits you, gaki. If, for one moment, you didn't care about all the people of this village – the people who hate you for no good reason – you would be able to do so much. You could destroy this damnable place and all its evil creatures!" Iruka sighed, knowing the old speech. The demon was intent on one day getting Iruka to push past his human limits and prove what he could really do – even if it meant murdering thousands of "insignificant" humans.

"Sensei, I won't kill innocent people, I won't marry, I won't have children…so why do you have to keep bringing it up?" Iruka asked, trying to shake the memory of the body that should have been his younger sibling…the child he should have protected like an older brother would. He knew he would never be able to put another person through such a demanding role as mother or as the only Umino heir.

"How many times must I repeat myself, gaki! It isn't only marriage I'm talking about. Making a blood pact will bring others into the clan and, from the few things I've heard about them, a blood oath is the only way of getting into the ANBU," the demon said in exasperation.

"Then how did my father become ANBU?" Iruka retorted, starting to get annoyed with his teacher's stubbornness. He was only fifteen and already the demon was talking about marriage and joining the ANBU!

"They knew of his abilities, so he wasn't required to make such an oath. You are an exception to the old rule of those of the Umino clan joining the ANBU. No one can know you still carry the family abilities, but you deserve to be ANBU _now_! You already are stronger than most jounin and deserve credit for your strength! We just need to think of some way to get around the blood oath."

"Don't forget...I'm not a jounin and I have no urge to become one. Naruto depends on me…I'm not going to leave him to go on some suicidal mission just so when I die, my name can be carved onto some piece of stone to show me _respect _and _honor_. I don't need to be recognized as some kind of hero when I die. I just want to take care of Naruto and teach the children in the academy," Iruka replied softly, remembering all those faces of the children he had taught so far. He could already tell which ones would make history one day…and those that would get the honor of having their names engraved into the memorial when they died on a jounin or ANBU mission years from now. Those children were just like their parents – the people who laughed at him when they were around that age. The only difference was that that little blonde he took care of was the one they teased. At least Naruto had him, though. He had done his best to watch over Naruto every waking moment he wasn't working, but it was never enough. The little blonde always was getting into fights while Iruka was working, even though Iruka did everything imaginable to protect him. Iruka had no one to run to when the older children had actually made him bleed, no one to put ice on the black eyes and cracked ribs, no one to curl up next to and cry on when the nightmares came as soon as the lights went out. Every time he reminded himself of that, Iruka felt like he was making a bit of a difference in the boy's life.

Even in day care, Naruto gained so many injuries by "running into poles" or "falling down" that Iruka sometimes worried. He remembered giving Mizutamari Mari the same excuses when he was too sore to train and the demon beat him a bit more, reminding him that no one would ever take pity on him because he wasn't strong enough to fend for himself. He remembered those painful lessons and now thanked the demon for it. Mizutamari Mari had given him the strength he needed as he grew older and became even stranger to others. Now he was mocked not for becoming a chuunin so early – something that usually gave you respect – but that he had taken in the Kyuubi's container and also given up his own training to become a jounin in order to teach children when he was only a few years older than his students. They no longer physically hit him, but their words hurt just as much. Lately, though, the whispered jokes about him had started to lessen as the shinobi community had started to see him as one of the best teachers the academy had ever had.

"I know, gaki, but if you ever change your mind, you have to know what you're getting yourself and others into. I am getting old and I may not be there when you mate or join the ANBU and, knowing you, you'll make a stupid mistake because I'm not there reminding you to _pay attention_!" the demon shouted his final words when he noticed the boy had already begun ignoring him. Fighting back the urge to smack him, the demon rubbed his aching temples. Iruka was, by far, the most aggravating of the Uminos he had ever taught, but then again, he was the most powerful and his potential was far greater than anything the demon had ever seen. If only he could get the boy to focus on what he was doing at the moment, Iruka would certainly become the most powerful shinobi Konoha had ever seen. Then again, if the boy didn't learn some self-discipline, he might well become the most destructive force the village had ever created. Mizutamari Mari feared the day someone got past those shields Iruka had created around himself and really hurt the emotionally-fragile boy.

--End Flashback--

Mizutamari Mari sat, watching the young man sleep like he did so many nights when Iruka was unaware of his presence. No one knew how much he cared about the chuunin – not even the brunette himself. He cracked his knuckles, knowing that the anger he felt was that of a paternal sense. He was aware of what had happened between his student and the jounin. He didn't have to see the man's nudity or the tell-tale injuries to know…the tears Iruka had been unconsciously crying as he slept were more than enough of a hint.

Iruka had promised him years ago that he would never find someone he would marry and, for the first time since then, Mizutamari Mari believed him. If his closest friend was willing to do such a thing to him, it was no wonder the human was hesitant to mate with one of his own kind. _And I thought demons were heartless…_he thought as a pang of guilt swept through him. He had pushed Iruka to get to know the bastard jounin; he had been the first Iruka had told about his liking towards both sexes – he shouldn't have been so accepting of the boy's choices…he should have made him promise to only look for a female to mate with. Iruka needed someone who would never harm him emotionally – he had already had more pain than anyone should ever have to deal with. Female humans were so much more understanding than the males, for some reason. Among demons, it was the opposite way. Mizutamari Mari thought of his own wife, who was one of the few females who had opted to keep him around instead of killing him after her first children were born. He thanked the gods that she let him live so long and actually stood up for him when other demons mocked his unique position: training humans to control him.

The demon cursed softly as a new batch of tears started rolling off the brunette's already stained cheeks. No other Umino had ever made him question his own actions towards them before. For a moment, he wondered if Iruka would have turned out the same way if he had pushed him more…or been less strict with him. What would Iruka be like if he had left him alone after the boy freed him from his responsibilities? What about if he hadn't been tricked into bowing by the boy so many years ago? Would Iruka have been better off without him around? What about if the boy had grown up with an actual family, not a demon and the container of the demon who killed his real family? Maybe Iruka's father was right when he said Iruka was different than other Umino children…that he shouldn't be taught the family's dark past and the powers he could have if he only gave himself over to the demonic side that every Umino had.

He sighed for what seemed to be the thousandth time since he had slipped into the room a few hours ago only to see the chuunin crying in his sleep. Mizutamari Mari knew he couldn't take any action against Kakashi unless Iruka wanted him to…sometimes the brunette's anger scared him even more than his own wife's. The chuunin was extremely forgiving, but not when the demon took matters into his own hands, as he had found out on one occasion. Iruka, still a pre-genin at the time, had been beaten into unconsciousness by one of the genins. It wasn't until after he had had a little _chat_ with the strange-looking boy that Iruka finally came out of the coma and told him that they had been sparring, not actually fighting, and the boy hadn't known his own strength. It was a little too late, though – the spandex-clad boy was never quite sane after that encounter – but Iruka made up for the demon's quick judgment and befriended the otherwise friendless boy.

Mizutamari Mari made a tight fist, knowing that this wasn't the same kind of situation. That jounin knew exactly what he was doing when he seduced the chuunin and then left him alone. There was no way that his actions could otherwise be interpreted. He growled softly, quite sure that Kakashi knew Iruka had no sexual experience besides whatever he had done to the young man behind closed doors. That heartless creature didn't deserve Iruka's friendship, let alone his forgiveness once the chuunin finally woke up.

With that thought in mind, Mizutamari Mari let out a soft huff and leaned forwards, gingerly brushing a few of the chuunin's fresh tears away from his face with a scaled knuckle. No one warranted such terrible treatment, especially not the poor chuunin who thought that there was good in everyone. The demon smiled sadly at that thought, remembering how well the brunette had always treated him – not like the demon the rest of his family feared and, in some cases, hated with a passion – but as a respected teacher, then a friend. Iruka always thought he was a good person, even though demons didn't hold the same morals as humanity.

_You may have been right about me, gaki…but not that monster…_he thought, barely contained hatred coming to his dark eyes. Pressing a single clawed finger against the chuunin's head, he closed his eyes and focused his dark chakra into a thin line and forced it into the brunette. After all the years of working with Iruka, the man's body hardly fought back against the demonic energy as it wove into his own chakra. Using all the concentration he possessed, Mizutamari Mari forced his chakra to specific points in the brunette's body. Although he didn't believe in the humans' deities, he found himself praying that his chancy actions would work.

The kappa closed his eyes and found himself looking into the face of the jounin he despised most. The man was smiling and, even though the demon hadn't really been around the man all that much, the familiarity he felt towards him was uncanny. If he hadn't done this before, he might have been surprised at the human-like emotions entering him. Mizutamari Mari braced himself when he felt his body lurch as the jounin disappeared, replaced by another image of the same man. This time, the man's face was covered by his customary mask and hitai-ate, but he could tell the man was smirking about something. That familiarity…and something more…was less compared to the last image, but Mizutamari Mari could still feel it and that realization aggravated him. If he didn't need to concentrate entirely on what he was doing, he probably would have cursed at the brunette. He never before realized how deep Iruka's feelings for the jounin went and, if he had, he would have done this much earlier.

Several images of the jounin later, Mizutamari Mari found himself seeing the jounin as how everyone else pictured him: the emotionless, mysterious, masked figure that never let anyone get to know him…get to like him. Those feelings of familiarity and warmth were gone, replaced by a dark void. Allowing himself to curse softly, Mizutamari Mari wished he knew more about the human emotions as he tried to force some kind of emotion into the brunette – anything but the hatred he himself felt. Finally satisfied with his work, Mizutamari Mari pulled his chakra back and removed his fingers from the chuunin's forehead. He took a deep breath as he opened his eyes and watched as one of the brunette's tears slid down his cheek and fell to the pillow. After that sole droplet was absorbed by the dark material, no more came. Releasing his breath in a relieved sigh, he found himself sitting down on the bed, wrapping his scaled fingers around Iruka's limp hand. He sat there, simply watching the young man sleep soundlessly – tearlessly – for a few minutes while his chakra replenished itself. Once he was confident his chakra levels were as close to normal as they would be for some time, Mizutamari Mari gently squeezed the teacher's hand, and then got up. He had enough chakra control to sense exactly where said monster was and, with a last glimpse at the chuunin, raced across the village at the speed only a demon could possess.

--

_Shimatta…shimatta…shimatta…_Kakashi repeated over and over, wanting so badly to bash his head into the rock sitting in front of him. He restrained himself, however, by reminding himself how he would disrespect by his late shinobi friends by desecrating their shrine with his blood. No, he couldn't do such a thing to those he had come to seek help from. The voices were silent, as usual, but the jounin had always gotten some kind of condolence from sitting by the stone for a few hours every other time. This time was different, however. For the first time, he found no comfort in resting one hand against the cold, weathered stone and praying for some kind of divine aid – even though he didn't believe such divine creatures really existed.

He sighed, trying to get the feeling of the chuunin's warm, soft skin off of his fingertips as he scraped them along the stone, but not even the pinpricks of pain as he scraped off layers of skin helped rid him of the memory. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his hands away from the memorial and looked at his raw, pink fingertips with hatred. He knew he shouldn't have become so close to Iruka…to let himself go so much that he didn't have control of his actions until too late after the fact.

Kakashi bit his lower lip underneath his soaked mask, tasting the cold rain that had been pelting him for the past few hours. After the first hour, however, he had felt the rain less and less and had finally become numb to the cold, ice-like droplets a short while ago. Even his earlier shivers and the chattering of his teeth had finally left him as he sat in the wet grass, all his focus on the dark stone in front of him. He knew enough about medicine to recognize the signs of hypothermia, but he knew he deserved whatever the nature around him had in store for him. If anything, he deserved worse than freezing to death, alone. For the first time since he got to know Iruka, Kakashi seriously contemplated whether or not anyone would be affected by his death…let alone if anyone would miss him. In a few years, he would only be another name that no one spoke of – like his own father. He wouldn't have his name so carefully carved into the stone like other, less famous, but far more valiant shinobi. No, everyone on this rock died because of something they believed in – dying to protect those on their team, their village, or their families. He wouldn't have died an honorable death like so many of his friends. No, he had picked the worst way to go. Even if he had jumped in front of a kunai on his next mission, he would still be honored for his bravery and years of service to the village.

Taking a gasping breath, he tilted his head back and looked up at the morning sky. The sun hadn't risen yet, but he doubted he would be conscious to see it even if it wasn't so foggy that he could hardly see a few feet away. He could already sense his chakra as well as his heartbeat slowing. His breathing had all but stopped a while back and now every single breath was an excruciating pain that he was almost glad to have. Any and all pain was deserved. He could almost hear Iruka's scolding voice, screeching over his stubbornness of sitting out in the freezing rain for so long, which only got him to bite on his lip harder until he tasted blood. No, not even the kind chuunin would feel sorry for him now. The brunette would probably be glad to know he died. Then, at least, Iruka could forget about him and what he had done to the poor man.

Kakashi closed his eyes as he bowed his head, wishing that he had never gotten to know Iruka. He should have kept up that façade that he was unapproachable and not at all friendly. A small part of him was glad he dropped the guise for Iruka, however. He had found an actual, close friend in the younger man – something he hadn't had since he lost the last of his genin team. He slowly lifted a hand up to the side of his face and wiped away the droplets of water from underneath his natural eye. At some point, he had lost the last bit of feeling in his hands, but he could tell that these droplets weren't like the others surrounding him – he could smell the saline, even though he couldn't feel their warmth. As he stared at his soaked fingertips, he saw his vision begin to darken and blur. Right before he lost the last bit of his vision, Kakashi looked up into the soft brown eyes; eyes he _least_ wanted to see right now.

_"Don't ever come near me again, Hatake-san…"_ Hearing the man's barely contained hatred and seeing the unfamiliar glint of darkness in his eyes hurt far less than he thought it would. It was the realization that nothing short of a miracle could bring back the friendship they once had as he heard the chuunin spit out his name with distain and it stung far more than he thought possible.

--

Iruka cracked one eye open and cursed softly when he felt the cold breeze hit his face. He assumed he must have left the window open before going to bed. He turned his head to the side and saw the messy note on his nightstand, immediately recognizing Mizutamari Mari's horrendous handwriting. Sometimes he wondered if it wasn't the demon who had taught Naruto how to write…

He leaned across the bed, wincing despite the small movement. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember if he had fallen on his rear in the past few days, but couldn't remember what exactly he had done the day before. Assuming the demon had written something about his memory lapse – something that wasn't all that uncommon due to their violent training sessions – picked up the small piece of paper and quickly glanced over it. _Training…got bashed in the head…depleted my chakra…no wonder I feel like crap and can't remember yesterday…_Iruka thought with a sigh, mentally thanking the demon for taking over his classes for the day – another detail Mizutamari Mari had put in the short note.

He took a deep breath as he lay back down, knowing that he couldn't leave the house for the day or else people would wonder about his double that was currently teaching a bunch of energetic children. He tried to think of what he could do, besides clean of course. He didn't have the urge to scrub the floors, dust, or even do dishes, so he thought over his other options. There was always calling Naruto over for a day of procrastinating – something they had both mastered years ago. Then again, the boy was probably on a mission. Iruka almost smacked himself on the head, remembering that Naruto was in the hospital. Remembering that non-related people couldn't visit people as badly injured as the blonde, he knew couldn't go see the boy, no matter how badly he wanted to check on Naruto's condition, so he scratched that idea. Training was also out of the question. He didn't want to hurt himself even more than he already was. He glanced over his barely clothed body, noticing the fresh scratches and bruises and assumed Mizutamari Mari had beaten him quite soundly to knock the past day out of his memories.

_Why does it seem I'm forgetting something?_ Iruka wondered, glimpsing around the room for any hints to his unease. It felt almost identical the one time Mizutamari Mari had messed with his mind and forced about five years worth of chakra training into his memory in a matter of minutes while also forcing him to unlearn his horrendous habit of cursing every other word. If people knew how he had learned so much so quickly or why the once foul-mouthed teen became a well-mannered boy, they would probably be horrified, but Iruka didn't really want to let anyone know. Not even Naruto was let in on his and Mizutamari Mari's secret.

If the demon had actually dug around his memory for something or added some new information, Iruka trusted it was something for the better, so he let the thought go with a sigh. _I probably gave him my permission, anyways,_ he theorized, considering the gap in his memory, as he looked up at his ceiling. It was very dangerous for the demon to do such mental adjustments, hence the one time he delved into Iruka's mind – or twice if his current status was a result of another minor "adjustment."

Iruka slowly stretched, making sure not to move too much to further injure himself. Iruka thought of this heavenly gift his teacher had given him – a full day of rest – and smiled at the thought of lounging in bed all day or, if he felt like ever getting up, perhaps a long, hot bath to help with his aching muscles.

He slowly sat up and looked around his floor and immediately honed in on the one thing out of place. On one of his dressers, among the pile of his shuriken, was one he instantly knew wasn't his. The chuunin forced himself out of his warm bed and slowly limped over to the weapons. He picked up the odd one and looked over it for a few moments. Most people thought his shuriken were identical to everyone else's, but Iruka knew his to be unique. All the blades had been masterfully crafted and they were useless in an actual battle, but were enough to train his students without chances of severely injuring one of them. In much the same fashion, his everyday kunai were created. They had the look and feel of being sharp and, even with close inspection, were thought to be normal blades. The only way to prove one was his, short of having him pick them out, was to throw it. The normally sharp weapons had been crafted to disintegrate only along the sharpened edges at certain speeds – usually speeds only achieved in throwing. Not even Mizutamari Mari could tell the difference between other shinobi's blades and his own without a quick throw. Iruka felt along the shuriken's edge, feeling how these edges were the exact opposite of his own. They had been crafted in the fashion of a jounin's blades – edges that were rumored to never dull, short of being slammed against a hard rock repeatedly. Whoever owned the weapon was certainly serious about injuring an opponent, if not willing to kill them with a single throw. Iruka shook that thought out of his head, knowing no one who had such a violent disposition, let alone knowing them well enough to let this person into his home and, obviously, walk around freely. No one, short of Naruto and Mizutamari Mari, had such a privilege.

_What exactly did I let him remove from my memory?_ Iruka wondered, now knowing that his teacher had, for some reason, changed his memories and, apparently, those memories focused on some_one_. He decided not to confront his teacher about it because, as much as the demon cared about him, he wouldn't go through so much trouble to remove and create memories, then tell Iruka exactly what he had done and why. It would defeat the whole purpose of his actions. Instead, Iruka assured himself that he would find out himself, no matter what this person had done to him so that he was willing to have Mizutamari Mari wipe his memory. He couldn't imagine anything that would have hurt him so badly that completely removing this mystery person was the only option he had.

--

Authoress: Okay, okay…I know…this was a short chapter, but I really wanted to get on with the story…and I'm sure everyone wanted to know how Iruka reacted…well, there you have it! I hope you guys don't think it's lame that I wiped his memories of _that_ night with Kakashi (along with the rest of their odd friendship)…but there'll be future chapters that'll go into what Iruka's reaction _would_ be (if you get my meaning…hint hint…) Anyways…how could Iruka go on, knowing what a jackass Kakashi is//cries// and as for that Copy Cat Bastard…I almost felt sorry for him this chapter…almost…but he just seemed as self-centered as ever to me…wanting to die instead of going back to Iruka and groveling for our favorite chuunin's forgiveness! And don't worry…he isn't dead yet…there wouldn't be much more of a story if he was…//smiles sheepishly// And for those of you who figured out what happened with Iruka and Kakashi this chapter //hands cookies out//…yep…Mizutamari Mari (for some reason we don't know yet…that'll be next chapter…) saved Kakashi, made Iruka forget about our silver-haired idiot, but made one whoopsie while cleaning Iruka's room…darn those shuriken! So, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter…and I'm so sorry it took so long for me to get around to writing it…I had so much college work to do in those last few weeks…I had to, literally, learn hundreds of words in Japanese (yep…I'm probably going to minor in it for no other reason than I love the language and culture…) for our final…T.T not to mention all that chem and bio to memorize (ah, the life of a pre-med college student…)…so, back to the story…please review!! I'd love to hear how much you liked (or hated) this chapter…//cries// I hope no one hated it too much!! I've got such amazing ideas for this story's future chapters and I don't want anyone to stop reading now!! The basis of the (real) story's plot is finally set…and my kickass Iruka shall be born//is enveloped in flames, cackling evilly// kukuku!!! So, until next chapter, please review…we authors like to know what you guys think//squeals// and thank all of you for staying with this story so far…I know I'm terrible with updates, but that's one of my New Year's resolution…more chapters for my wonderful reviewers!!!! And, of course, thank you so much LB-chan for beta-ing this chapter!!!


	14. Bad Timing

Authoress: YOSH!! I'm returning to my old insomnia behavior in the last few days before going back to college, so here I am again with a brand new chapter of Underneath the Scars//listens to Hinder's 'You Deserve Much Better Than Me'//…now, that song goes amazingly well with this story's plot…and I never meant it to – I started the story long before the song came out…but, this isn't a songfic…so, onto the story!! Actually, I have one more thing to mention and that's that I have a wonderful new beta, LostHope-san //squeals happily//...and this chapter is not only his first beta-ing job for me, but I'd like to dedicate it (but not the one section we both twitched over...that's for all the people who've flamed me in the past) to him...not only is he a wonderful reviewer, but now an amazing beta!!! YOOOOSH

Disclaimer: oh, I could only imagine if I owned Naruto //drools for several minutes// ah, it would be the greatest Yaoi series to exist…and there would be one less pink-haired bitch…kukuku…

**Chapter Fourteen**

Tsunade cracked open an eye, noticing a distinctive change in her office. Making sure to keep her breath and heartbeat at paces akin to those during sleep, she mentally scanned her office for the source of her sudden unease. Noticing an unfamiliar, dark chakra filling the entire room, she quickly sat up from her slouched, sleeping position and pulled a kunai out, her eyes searching for the intruder. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, she lowered the blade slightly, still slightly nervous about the sheer amount of chakra that kept coming into the room from somewhere.

"Hokage-sama," a deep voice called to her from the other side of the room. Tsunade glared at the direction of the voice, finding nothing there – not even the most complex of hiding jutsu. She was about to admit she was still asleep, dreaming about some disembodied voice, and lay her head back down, but froze when she saw a creature pulling itself out of a dark hole that was forming on the floor. She instantly recognized the thing as Iruka's kappa and had to search her memory for a moment to remember its name.

"Mizutamari Mari-san, what an unexpected pleasure…" she replied, lowering the kunai to her side, but still kept a hold on it just in case the demon wasn't here on Iruka's orders. The demon obviously noticed her caution and it chuckled.

"Even if I was here to attack you, that kunai wouldn't do much damage," Mizutamari Mari stated, his eyes focused on the Hokage more than her weapon. He heard enough from Iruka – as well as those unfortunate enough to fight the woman – to know she needed no weapon to be considered a dangerous enemy. Her hands were enough to frighten most less-powerful demons. "Don't worry…I came here for Iruka's sake."

"Oh? I heard about his problems at the hospital yesterday, but I'm afraid I can't do anything about it. It's the law." Tsunade commented, cursing softly at the small glitch in the system. Iruka was, in all but legal title, Naruto's only family and deserved to be recognized as such, but only if the chuunin was to adopt the blonde would that ever happen.

"I'm not here about that. The brat will be fine, anyways. The Kyuubi wouldn't let him sit in a hospital that long. She's quite impatient," Mizutamari Mari answered as he walked a few steps towards Konoha's leader. "I came to talk to you about Iruka…and that _jounin_."

"I'm guessing you're talking about Kakashi," Tsunade said questioningly, unable to think of any other jounin that the demon would want to talk about in the same conversation as the chuunin teacher. "One of the doctors told me Iruka brought him into the hospital this morning…said something about hypothermia, but that he should be fine in a few days…"

"It was me, not Iruka." Mizutamari Mari glanced down at his claws, wondering for what seemed like the thousandth time why he had saved the jounin from his sorry attempt at suicide. Even if he hadn't brought him to the hospital, someone else would have eventually found him and saved the bastard's life. "Last night, those two were _together_."

It didn't take Tsunade more than a mere blink of her eyes to understand what the demon was talking about and was about to, happily, admit it was about time, but from the soft growl that came out of the demon, she understood that something had happened. Knowing the jounin as well as she did, it didn't take her long to figure out what exactly Kakashi had done wrong. "Don't tell me; Kakashi regretted it, took off, and sat out in the freezing rain the whole night," she said, guessing the socially-inept jounin would somehow mess up something as easy as falling in love with a chuunin who – for some reason that evaded everyone else who knew Kakashi – adored him.

"Ah, strength _and_ intelligence…if only you were a demon," Mizutamari Mari joked, getting the barest of smiles from the Hokage. "Iruka doesn't remember last night…or his whole relationship with _him_…and I'd rather keep it that way."

"But…how?" Tsunade asked, her eyes widening at the mere thought of being able to erase someone's memory. From the tone of the kappa's voice, she knew that Iruka's loss of memory wasn't psychological, but intentional. Such an ability would come in great use in interrogations and debriefings. She shook all thoughts of how to use such a thing to her own advantage for a moment when she remembered who the demon had been talking about.

"I did it. It's quite a risk to fish around that idiot's mind and pull anything about that jounin out, but there was no other way."

Tsunade could clearly hear the regret in the creature's deep voice and, for the briefest of seconds, wondered if Mizutamari Mari had been protecting his student. "Why? Iruka could have beaten some sense into Kakashi eventually…"

"Iie. Iruka's emotionally fragile as is. To know someone so close betrayed him…it would be akin to Naruto's situation, but far more delicate. Iruka would have lost it if he had remembered. He's so emotionally unstable that very small things set him off in the first place…this would have devastated him. Kakashi's the first person Iruka's ever trusted enough to show his true self – besides Naruto and myself. To be betrayed like that…" Mizutamari Mari sighed as he shook his head, then continued, "if, by some chance, he didn't completely shut down, he'd lose control of his emotions…and his power," Mizutamari Mari ended softly, knowing that, even though that was always what he had been hoping for his student to do – to show his full potential – this wasn't the way to reach such means. He knew himself to be sadistic at times, but he would never destroy his student's mind in order to reach such ends.

"It would have been similar to the Kyuubi's attack?" Tsunade asked, wondering how much damage Iruka could inflict if such an instance ever occurred. She could never imagine the kind-hearted chuunin hurting anyone, let alone attacking the village, but she had seen some of the greatest shinobi crack under far less than what Iruka would have had to deal with and knew that even the kindest of people could easily turn violent.

Mizutamari Mari snorted, slightly offended that the woman thought so little of his student's abilities. "Try at least ten times worse. The Kyuubi first attacked simply to destroy Iruka's family…your shinobi only aggravated the situation. She didn't even use the full extent of her powers, although I have no idea why and, not to mention, both of Iruka's parents used every last ounce of their chakra to hold her down. Your village wouldn't have such saviors…no one except Naruto has such awesome power and, no matter what Iruka does, I can never see Naruto attacking him...with the intent to kill…" He sighed, remembering how Iruka's parents were torn to shreds by forcing his chakra through their fragile, mortal bodies. It was an image that still haunted him whenever he thought about his student's less-than-stable state. If Iruka hadn't been forced to see his parents die in such a way, he might have been able to take Kakashi's betrayal, but seeing their destruction put him over the edge. He sighed, remembering the old jutsu he still kept on the brunette, just in case Iruka ever took it to mind to try hurting himself like he used to. Even if Iruka was somehow able to bottle up the intense emotions over Kakashi leaving, he would have only started hurting himself...blaming himself. He looked over at Tsunade and could tell she knew exactly what he was going to say next. "Killing him would be the only way to stop him, considering Iruka has the training of an elite jounin and all the power of a full demon and he can use it far more cleverly, and deadly, than even we demons can."

_Ten times…_Tsunade thought in disbelief, remembering how the village had nearly been destroyed by the Kyuubi. Even though she hadn't even been near the village at the time, she had felt the demon's chakra from countries away…and the ominous sense of death that it left behind. "Why are you telling me this?" She asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Iruka doesn't remember his relationship with Kakashi…and I want it kept that way. I don't care what you have to do…send him on long-term missions, make him an ambassador to another village…just keep him away from Iruka." Mizutamari Mari closed his eyes for a moment, remembering all the conversations he had with Iruka lately – how the chuunin always talked about Kakashi with such emotion. The brunette had really cared about him…and Kakashi destroyed that. "Even someone as dense as that jounin would notice something was wrong with Iruka. If Iruka ever figured out what I did, there's a chance he would remember again."

"I thought you said you removed Kakashi from his memory," Tsunade pointed out, wondering how far back he had gone into Iruka's memories. Did the chuunin remember who the Copy Cat Nin was? Would he even recognize Kakashi if they saw each other? Could Iruka recall that Kakashi was a lazy, good-for-nothing jounin who always handed in late, messy mission reports?

"I can only repress memories…if I had completely removed them, Iruka would be looking at months that he couldn't remember," Mizutamari Mari replied with a sigh. If only he could perfect the skill, then he wouldn't have to take all these kinds of things into account when debating over whether or not to play around with Iruka's mind. "As of now, he knows who Kakashi is and can recognize him…but his experiences concerning the jounin are gone…since the last chuunin exam that is. He remembers everything before he really got to know Kakashi."

"I'll find some mission for Kakashi as soon as he's out of the hospital," Tsunade promised after a thoughtful pause, knowing of several dangerous reconnaissance missions the jounin would be perfect for. And, in such missions, the reports were given directly to her, so there would be no reason for Kakashi to go to the Missions Office – no chance he would see Iruka. "And, if he is in the village, he'll be under a mound of paperwork." _Yes! Less for me to do!_ The Hokage inwardly cheered at this thought. She furrowed her eyebrows, thinking of something. "Won't Iruka realize something's wrong if someone asks him about Kakashi? Everyone knows that they are friends."

"I'm afraid so…"

"I have the perfect solution…" the Hokage said assuredly. _Someone to watch over Iruka…perhaps even lie a little to fill in those gaps in his memory…someone who wouldn't mind being around Iruka constantly…but who? _The blonde smirked as she thought of exactly she would be contacting as soon as the demon left. Tsunade cracked her knuckles, knowing those two kunoichi needed a new, long-term mission to keep their minds off ways to aggravate her best interrogation expert.

--

Iruka sighed, laying back in the hot water as he let the heated liquid work its magic on his aching muscles. As soon as he felt like getting out of bed today, he started running his bath right after eating a quick breakfast. Leaning back against the tub, he closed his eyes and took a deep, relaxing breath. _What could Mizutamari Mari have wiped from my memory?_ He wondered, again, as he thought back at the past few months, but didn't find anything to be suspiciously missing. He couldn't think of any day where there was a gaping hole, when he must have done something with whoever he couldn't remember. No one's opinions or actions had changed in the past few days, as far as he knew, that would hint at what was wrong or what could have possibly happened. _Yesterday…I remember trying to visit Naruto at the hospital, but they wouldn't let me see him, so I came home and got mad at his genin teacher for letting him go out after Sasuke…for letting Sasuke get so close to betraying the village in the first place. He stopped by…and I actually attacked him…but he must have left…and then I trained the rest of the night with Mizutamari Mari. If he was telling the truth in his letter, I can't remember training with him because he hit me a little too hard…but if not, then something happened last night that he made me forget._ Iruka tried to think of any kind of event that his sadistic teacher would, using such a risky procedure, remove from his memory. The only thing Iruka could come close to rationalizing his teacher's actions was the death of someone, but he knew that was impossible. If someone died, he would remember that they were no longer alive, just not _how_ exactly they died.

He glanced down at the soapy bubbles floating across the water and found himself staring intently at the colorful bubble. _Soap?_ He thought, remembering that he had done something with the cleansing product, just not what. _Another thing Mizutamari Mari removed?_

Looking around his immaculate bathroom, Iruka found nothing else that sparked the beginnings of a memory. The brunette shifted his gaze back down to the soap bubbles, trying to think of what he could possibly do with soap that his teacher saw the need to remove. If his hunch was right and the cause of Mizutamari Mari's actions was someone, then he guessed the soap had something to do with this mystery person.

Iruka nearly jumped out of the bathwater when he heard a loud knocking echo through his quiet apartment. Chuckling at his anxious behavior, the chuunin regretfully got out of his soothing – yet perplexing – bath. He quickly dried himself off with a towel, and then changed into a clean outfit he had neatly folded on the bathroom's vanity. Wondering who could possibly be knocking at his door, Iruka slipped down the hallway and towards the front door. On his way to the entrance, the chuunin happened to glance through the doorway into the kitchen and – much like he did with the soap – the brunette got the sinking feeling he was forgetting something.

He opened the unlocked door, wondering who other than his favorite blonde or, maybe, Gai would come to his house. Both knew he never locked his door, so they would have strode on in and simply made themselves at home. Iruka, expecting to see the spandex-clad jounin – wondering if he had finally learned to knock – was surprised when he saw two other jounin standing in his doorway.

"Ohayo, 'Ruru-chan!" Iruka twitched at the nickname as the two kunoichi waved at him energetically. Before he even returned the greeting or gestured for them to enter, Anko strode in, closely followed by Kurenai.

"Um…good morning?" Iruka watched as the two strode towards the kitchen and couldn't help but meekly follow behind the bossy women. When he saw the shinobi getting quite comfortable in his apartment, he raised an eyebrow. Anko sprawled across his couch and Kurenai was quick to venture into the kitchen and put on a pot of water for tea.

"'Ruru-chan, I can't believe you forgot our date this morning!" Anko exclaimed as she looked up from the pillow her face had been buried in. Iruka gave her a blank stare and the woman couldn't help but throw her head back into the fluffy object as she cursed softly. No one could lie to Iruka with a straight face. _Damn you, Tsunade…this is just cruel to do to Iruka…_

"Huh?"

"Wow, I guess Mizutamari Mari really did hit you pretty hard last night…" Anko commented, feigning surprise while trying to hide her confusion. All Tsunade had told her was that they were on a new mission, one that would be more secretive than any ANBU mission – at which point she told them about Iruka's memory lapse and how, at all costs, they had to keep Kakashi away from the chuunin and to keep Iruka from wondering what happened. Tsunade had told them to keep with the same story – some guy named Mizutamari Mari was training with Iruka last night and hit him hard enough to cause some lost memory. _I wonder who this Mizutamari Mari guy is…I wonder if he's from the Hidden Village of the Mist…who else would have such a name?_ (A/N: for those who forgot, Mizutamari Mari means pool)

"Eh?" Iruka couldn't help but show his confusion now. _How would Anko and Kurenai know about Mizutamari Mari – let alone know what he had said happened last night…he couldn't have gotten them into his plot to keep me from remembering…could he?_

"Yea, remember, you were training last night?" Kurenai said questioningly from the kitchen, her thoughts paralleling her companion's. Tsunade had explained what Kakashi had done – but not what had caused Iruka's loss of memory…or why they had to keep him from remembering. After leaving Tsunade's office, the two women tried to think of a reason to Iruka's memory loss and only came up with a psychological cause – they both were quite familiar with such stressful situations where they just forget about it and, most of the time, never remember it again. Even her worst intimate experiences never left her with a need to block out the memory, which only made her opinion of Kakashi plummet like a rock. _Jackass…oooh, when I get the chance, I'm going to slap some sense into that idiot…_

"Oh…I guess I forgot…" Iruka replied, finally admitting to himself that it was impossible for Mizutamari Mari to have enlisted the help of the two kunoichi in this plan of his. Mizutamari Mari would never show himself to any shinobi unless he let him, let alone discuss Iruka's training with them – their training was already far from legal now, which only made it more important that they keep it a complete secret. No one could know of his dark abilities. "I'm sorry about forgetting this morning…what were we doing?"

"Going out for breakfast before you went to the academy…" Anko replied, trying to sound hurt as she took a good look at Iruka. He didn't seem to be questioning whether or not they were telling the truth – which was a good thing, since if the brunette asked her directly about it, she knew she couldn't lie about something as major as him forgetting his best friend and, in her mind (and every other Iruka-fan/Yaoi-fan), the love of his life.

"Gomen," Iruka apologized, trying to remember when he made such plans, but couldn't place it. "I don't even remember when we made those plans." _Did I ever socialize with Anko and Kurenai?_ Iruka wondered, knowing that, other than in the Missions Office and a few other times, he hardly even saw the women.

"Yesterday, silly…remember, we were going to have you help us with a little problem? With _Ibiki_?" Kurenai hinted. _Might as well hit two birds with one stone…_she thought, inwardly shrugging at the strange mission Tsunade assigned to them. When she finally saw Iruka look at her questioningly, she continued, "you agreed to help us get Ibiki to see he likes Anko here by making him jealous…"

"We were supposed to pretend to date…that's why we were meeting up this morning…" Anko added, following the other kunoichi's lead. They had discussed how they were going to work the Ibiki problem into their mission, but hadn't really figured out how to bring it up before arriving at the chuunin's apartment.

"Oh," Iruka said, surprised at how much sense that made. He knew about the kunoichi's attraction to the torture expert – like everyone else did – but he was probably one of the very few that knew that Ibiki had a soft spot for her as well, but it was something Ibiki wouldn't even admit under his own worst forms of torture. _But why would I forget agreeing to that?_ Iruka wondered, and then remembered how Kurenai said that they agreed to it yesterday – the day that was quite hazy in his memory. Iruka, for a moment, asked himself why he would agree to such a crazy idea, but did see why the women would come to him for help. Not only was he the only available man (who was assumed to be straight), well, besides Gai, that is, but they would have had to find someone that would actually make Ibiki jealous – not slightly disturbed. "I forgot…"

"That's okay…let's go out tonight then, after you get out of 'work,'" Anko replied, wondering who this mysterious Mizutamari Mari was if he was filling in for the chuunin, since it was obvious Iruka was too disorientated to have been able to create a doppelganger and have it take his place at the academy for the whole day. Whoever he was, he was very brave to take on that many children at once…

"O-okay…" Iruka replied, suddenly feeling butterflies in his stomach. He knew himself to be a pushover when it came to people asking for help – why could he never say no!? – but this just seemed _wrong_ on so many levels. Not only did he not know the first thing about dating, but he knew nothing about women or how to make someone else – especially someone like Ibiki – jealous! He saw a glimmer of something in Anko's eyes that raised his suspicion and he thought of something that might prove whether or not they were telling him the truth. "How did you know about Mizutamari Mari?"

Kurenai breathed a sigh of relief, remembering how that was another question Tsunade had foreseen and given them an answer that she assured, though it was cryptic to them, Iruka would understand and accept it. "As soon as Tsunade-sama found out about him, she had to inform all elite jounin…just in case something happened," she calmly lied, catching the approval in Iruka's eyes. Whoever this mystery person was, he was someone the jounin community _should_ know about, but didn't.

"He saw me while I was waiting for you this morning and told me about what happened last night," Anko added, surprising herself at how easy it was becoming to lie to the poor chuunin. Iruka nodded his head; the gleam of curiosity and unease in his eyes dimming slightly. "Oh, and Tsunade-sama asked to see you today when you're feeling up to it," she added, inwardly pumping her fist in the air. If Iruka went to see the Hokage, it meant the lazy woman would have to actually be awake. It was a small bit of revenge, but it still tasted just as sweet. No one should be given a mission to lie to poor, innocent Iruka.

"Alright…I'll go see her this afternoon," Iruka replied, quickly turning his head to the kitchen when he heard the water Kurenai had put on begin to boil. He sighed, catching a glimpse of Kurenai sifting through his kitchen for what he assumed to be tea and mugs. Iruka walked over to the kitchen and helped her before she ruined his careful organization of everything in the cabinets. Kurenai had a look of surprise on her face when he pulled the container of tea from the front of a cabinet she had already searched through twice and she gave the chuunin a sheepish grin as he handed her the glass jar.

"Thanks, Ruru-chan," Kurenai replied sweetly. Iruka didn't know how the woman did it, but her eyes seemed to be pouting at him. With a sigh of defeat, the brunette quickly went to another cabinet and pulled out three matching cups. He handed them over to the woman and actually got halfway back across the room before he froze, wondering why he was helping the women become more comfortable when they had forced themselves into his home.

Iruka merely shook his head, knowing that – even though they had invaded his quiet sanctuary – he would never be so rude as to kick them out, let alone deny them a few cups of tea. Especially after he apparently forgot to go to breakfast with Anko! _So I guess Mizutamari Mari wasn't lying in his note…but why does it feel like this is…familiar…_ Iruka wondered, trying to remember who else he ever had stay over for tea. Naruto didn't drink tea and Gai was always too energetic to stay in the apartment long enough for the water to boil. Iruka pondered over this as he sat down on the far edge of the couch as to not sit on Anko's stretched out legs. The woman sat up after a few seconds of watching Iruka try to balance himself on the tiny bit of free couch, giving Iruka enough room to sit comfortably on the other side of the couch – far from Anko. It still seemed a bit strange that he agreed to mock "date" her just to get at Ibiki.

Iruka looked up in time to see Kurenai holding out a steaming cup of tea for him. "Oh, thank you, Kurenai-sensei," Iruka replied softly as he took the hot cup. For a moment, he swore he saw Kurenai blush, but she turned her head to look at Anko too quickly for him to be sure.

_Damn…it's so hard to lie to him!_ Kurenai inwardly cursed, wishing her face didn't feel so warm. Iruka was just so cute! He didn't deserve to be lied to like this…he should know what Kakashi did and go beat the crap out of him for it! She mentally shook her head at this idea as she cozily sat down between Anko and Iruka. Tsunade gave them a mission – to keep Iruka from seeing, talking about, or even thinking about Kakashi – and, as strange and cruel as it was, she was a shinobi of Konoha and had to follow orders.

"So, Ruru-chan, I heard about what happened yesterday at the hospital…those prick doctors!" Anko exclaimed and, in her excitement, spilling a bit of her tea across her lap. Cursing colorfully, the woman brushed it off, then went back to leaning forwards so she could look at Iruka. "Why don't you just adopt Naruto, then these kinds of things wouldn't come up."

"We always thought it would be better for him…" Iruka replied softly as he looked down at the deep brown liquid in his cup. He took a sip, somewhat surprised to find out that Kurenai made very good tea – she didn't seem like the type who knew her way around the kitchen.

"But he is out of the academy now…you don't have to worry about people complaining about you teaching your son," Kurenai pointed out between sips of her tea. Everyone – at least those in the brunette's fan club – knew Iruka's reasoning behind never legally adopting Naruto, even when he had the chance. Now that Naruto was no longer a pre-genin, there wasn't much of a chance that the law would find some way to make their lives harder.

"True…I never thought about that…" Iruka admitted, wondering for the first time in a long time whether or not he could really adopt Naruto. A piece of paper would never change their relationship, but it would make quite a few things a great deal easier – Naruto's medical care being just the beginning of the problems they've run into over the years. Iruka knew he would have to talk it over with the blonde before making any kind of action, but Iruka had a feeling Naruto wouldn't object.

"I think you should do it. Naruto's a great kid…Kakashi won't admit it, but he adores that brat," Anko commented, nearly choking on the tea in her mouth when Kurenai jabbed her with an elbow. The kunoichi gave her a glare that obviously meant to shut up before they blew their mission. Anko inwardly sweatdropped, remembering how they weren't supposed to be bringing up Kakashi. _Oops_… Both women looked over at Iruka, hoping they hadn't ruined everything.

Iruka smiled softly, ignoring Anko's use of the term "brat" since he could tell from her tone she hadn't meant it in an offensive manner. It was, if nothing else, endearing. "I just hope he's okay…Sasuke leaving the village…it must be so hard on him…" Iruka said softly, taking another sip of his tea. If he remembered the bitch of a nurse correctly, Naruto would be well enough for Iruka to visit him soon. He sighed as he took a gulp of hot tea, ignoring the burning in his mouth, as he tried to imagine how much pain Naruto must have been in. _He must be blaming himself for not being able to bring Sasuke back…_

"If you want, we can get you in to see him," Anko suggested, giving the two surprised shinobi to her side a smirk. "Kurenai and I will divert the medical staff and you can sneak in…we've done it a bunch of times so Kurenai here could go see Asuma…" She winked at Iruka and saw the chuunin smile, nodding his head.

"That would be perfect…but won't you two get in trouble if they found out what you were doing?" Iruka asked, getting chuckles from the two kunoichi. Raising an eyebrow, he watched them snort into their tea until they were able to give him an explanation.

"We're always in trouble; it's part of being a jounin. Don't worry about us. If the hospital was going to actually follow through on all their threats of bringing charges up against us, the Hokage would be swimming in letters from those idiots demanding our resignations," Anko replied, grinning. "People don't mess with us jounin, especially the elite." She glanced at Iruka and found him to be chuckling. "Nani?"

"Don't ever tell Naruto about your _special privileges_," Iruka answered, beginning to imagine what kind of pranks his favorite blonde would pull off if he didn't have to fear any punishment from a higher power. Anko found herself laughing at Iruka's statement, agreeing with the usually quiet chuunin.

_He's much more…easygoing…than I remember him ever being,_ Anko noticed as she watched Iruka for a moment. It was as though some invisible weight was lifted off the man's shoulders, but she knew it couldn't have been Kakashi…he was always a little stressed before the jounin became a part of his life. Whatever it was that got Iruka to relax a bit was definitely a godsend. The poor chuunin had far too much to worry about even without this mystery problem. She watched him for some time between sips of tea while he and Kurenai made small talk. Iruka was almost an entirely different person – it may have been because they were in his apartment, a place he saw as safe and comfortable, but Anko doubted it.

_They don't think I'm some kind of monster…even though they know about Mizutamari Mari…_Iruka thought to himself, feeling a bit of his customary worry chipping away. He didn't have to pretend with these two women – they knew what he was and still wanted to be around him. Iruka smiled at that thought and found himself actually _enjoying_ this unexpected visit with the two kunoichi who were famous for their ruthlessness. If anything, Kurenai and Anko were the exact opposite of Iruka's expectations of them. They were kind, understanding, and, to a degree, even funny. For the barest of moments, he wondered if they were being especially compassionate to him for some unknown reason, but he quickly brushed off such an idea as ridiculous. _Maybe this whole 'dating' thing won't be as hard as I thought…_

--

Tsunade, for the second time that day, found herself being rudely woken up from glorious sleep. She actually thought about glaring at the intruder until she saw that it was her favorite brunette chuunin. Pulling her head off of the pile of important paperwork she had been drooling on, Tsunade wiped her mouth and smiled, beckoning for Iruka to come closer.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," Iruka said softly, bowing politely. Tsunade smiled for a moment, loving how Iruka was the only person who showed her proper respect – it was quite a stroke to her ego to have the kind man bow to her. "Anko said that you wanted to see me."

_That pain…_Tsunade cursed inwardly, reminding herself that she would have to give Anko a few more dull missions to make up for waking her up from a nap. "Sit down Iruka," she replied as she gestured to the chair across from her desk. Once the chuunin was comfortable, Tsunade glanced towards the door cautiously. Sensing her anal secretary to be far away, she pulled out a bottle of sake that was hidden in hollowed out book of Konoha's history – it was the last place Shizune would have thought her to hide her booze. Iruka gave her a reproving gaze when he saw what she had done to the book and shook his head when she offered him a cup – which came from the newest edition of proposed shinobi laws. She didn't like either topic all that much and already knew that all the new laws were things she would get more thick pamphlets on in the next few weeks. She ran though her head, trying to think of something (besides Kakashi) that she could talk to the chuunin with. She inwardly smiled sadly when she remembered what Jiraiya had asked her after Kurenai and Anko left this morning. "Iruka…I wanted to talk to you about Naruto…"

"I'm thinking about legally adopting him, Hokage-sama," Iruka replied as he looked up at the woman. She looked slightly surprised at his comment, but made up for it with a happy grin.

"Good…you two deserve to be happy…" Tsunade watched as the young man blushed, his tan skin covering up most of the color, but to her medical eye, he couldn't hide his flushed cheeks. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Jiraiya wants to take Naruto with him on a three year trip…to train. With the danger the Akatsuki presents…Naruto needs to get much stronger."

Iruka's face fell as he slowly came to accept what the woman had told him. "If you think it's best for Naruto to leave, then I can't argue, Tsunade-sama," he replied quietly, wishing there was another way to protect the blonde, but knew that this was the only way to make sure Naruto wouldn't be taken by those people. As much as hurt to think about Naruto being gone for three long years, Iruka wanted what was best for the blonde.

"Iruka, if you say that you'd rather he stays here, I'll respect your decision. You're his only family, no matter what some legal document says and the choice is ultimately yours," Tsunade pointed out, noticing how the man smiled sadly at how she acknowledged his relationship with Naruto. She bit her lip, trying to think of another way to get Iruka to agree that Naruto should stay. Mizutamari Mari's words kept repeating in her head as she saw the glimmer of tears begin to collect in the man's eyes. _Ten times…nothing's worth that…_ "He can train here and, although it may not be as beneficial as leaving, he will still improve greatly."

"Iie…Naruto would want the best chance he has to become stronger…he would want to leave," Iruka replied after a moment of silence. "It's his choice, not mine…after all, he wants to bring Sasuke back and become Hokage, ne?" Iruka looked up at Tsunade and she felt her heart break at the pained look in his eyes.

Tsunade could see how hard it was for Iruka to admit that, not only to himself, but to her. "Iruka, I don't want either of you to suffer…if it's going to be too hard to let Naruto go for three years, then just say he should stay here…" Tsunade tried to keep the begging tone out of her voice, but it still could be heard as she looked at the young man pleadingly. "You could adopt him, then, and you two can be a real family…he could train here, take the chuunin exams again, and be with his friends…"

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama, but if Naruto wants to go, then I can only wish him luck," Iruka said quietly. Even though his voice shook as he said it, his tone carried a finality that got the Hokage's eyes to widen. She never thought of Iruka as a determined person – since, with enough persuasion, the chuunin would agree to almost anything – but the chuunin's voice was so certain that she couldn't help but stare in amazement. For a moment, it felt like she was talking to the stubborn jounin ass who Iruka couldn't remember much about.

"Alright, Iruka…if that's what you really want…" Tsunade finally stated, watching Iruka for any regret, but found that he wasn't going to change his mind. "Now go sneak into the hospital to see that brat and tell him…" _Tell him what?...Jiraiya should be the one to tell him about their journey…_ "Tell him next time he completes a mission, he better not come back so injured…" Iruka smiled at her statement and the unspoken compliment it implied.

_A completed mission…is a successful mission…_Tsunade thought as the chuunin quickly said goodbye, then left the room. _He did better than I expected…then again, when doesn't Naruto surprise everyone? I just hope Iruka will be able to deal with Naruto leaving…_

--

Iruka slipped into the silent room, cautiously glancing back at the end of the hallway where the nurses' station was located. Currently all the medical staff was downstairs in order to help with some kind of breakdown. From what he heard over the loudspeakers, it sounded like a couple jounin – who he knew to be two sneaky kunoichi – had started an argument and it was ending up in an all out fight. He smiled, knowing that, with Anko and Kurenai's abilities, it would take quite a bit to restrain them – not to mention having to disarm them! He could only imagine what kinds of weapons the two women carried at all times.

He quickly closed the door behind himself and looked over at the only bed in the small room. Smiling at the peaceful expression on the blonde's face, Iruka took a few quiet steps towards the bed and sat down in a nearby chair. Pulling the chair closer to the bed, Iruka studied Naruto's injuries. From what he could see, it looked like almost every inch of the teen, besides his face, was covered in bandages, but Naruto wasn't hooked up to any kind of machinery that was necessary to save his life or under some kind of jutsu – like some of his friends were. Iruka gently took one of Naruto's bandaged hands from the boy's side and held it between his own.

_I should have stopped him from going…_Iruka thought to himself as he watched Naruto stir for a moment, obviously able to feel that the brunette had picked up his hand. Iruka gingerly brushed his fingers against the back of the teen's hand, reassuring the still unconscious teen that he was there. After a few minutes of simply watching the boy, listening to his soft breathing, Iruka felt slightly better about Naruto's condition. Iruka bowed his head, letting a strand of healing chakra seep into the boy's hand. He could feel instantly that no one else had tried to heal Naruto in this fashion – they were probably afraid that the demon inside him would somehow react negatively to their attempts. He inwardly snorted at such a thought. Naruto was just like any other child, until the Kyuubi was released. Naruto wasn't a threat to anyone, especially when he was unconscious and so badly injured. The only people who needed to fear him were the ones who brought out the demon in him – literally. He sighed, wishing that there was some way to end the silly misconceptions about the demon container, and demons in general, but knew that it would be almost impossible. It would be even harder if Iruka wanted to keep his own abilities a secret from the majority of the village. If people knew what he was…they would never let him teach their children. Iruka gently squeezed Naruto's hand, more for his sake than the blonde's. Iruka glanced up at Naruto's face when he felt the teen's hand move slightly. The blonde slowly cracked one eye open and looked blankly up at the ceiling for moment, then turned his head to look at Iruka.

"Oi…don't look so depressed…" Naruto mumbled softly as Iruka found himself coming to sit on the bed next to the teen and quickly, yet carefully, wrapping his arms around the blonde. Iruka stayed still for a moment, content on hugging the teen and listening to his strong heartbeat. "C'mon, Iruka-nii…you're acting like I died or something."

"You almost did, baka," Iruka retorted, feeling tears beginning to seep into the bandages covering Naruto's shoulder. He tried to keep himself from crying, but after a few sniffles slipped, Iruka found himself tightening his embrace and sobbing into Naruto's chest.

"I'm okay, Iruka…" Naruto said softly as he brought his arms up and wrapped them around Iruka's middle. He could feel the older shinobi's body shake softly as he cried and Naruto knew that Iruka probably wouldn't stop for a while, so he simply held the chuunin until Iruka ran out of tears.

After some time, Iruka loosened his grip on Naruto and sat back up, quickly wiping the remnants of his tears from his face. "I'm so glad you're alright…" he finally said as he looked down at the blonde. Naruto gave him his trademark smirk, but the smile quickly faded as Naruto remembered why exactly he was in the hospital.

"I didn't stop Sasuke, did I?" he asked softly. Iruka didn't need to answer him; the look on Iruka's face as the chuunin glanced away was enough. "I failed my mission…I failed Sakura…I promised to bring him back…"

"Naruto, the most important thing is for you to recover now…you did your best…" Iruka replied softly as he brought one hand to touch the blonde's scarred cheek. Almost as soon as the first tear leaked out of Naruto's bright eye, Iruka wiped it away.

"It's my fault he's gone…Iruka-nii…" Naruto couldn't stop himself from sniffling as he looked into the chuunin's soft eyes. Immediately, he could tell something had happened to Iruka too, but he was hesitant to ask about it, since he had a feeling he shouldn't bring it up right now. "I couldn't stop him…"

"No, Naruto…you did everything you could to bring Sasuke back…no one could ask any more of you…everyone's just glad that you're okay," Iruka replied, noticing the curiosity in the teen's eyes, but didn't mention it.

"I wasn't strong enou-"

"If you couldn't bring him back, no one could," Iruka interrupted Naruto's self-destructive thoughts. "Sasuke deserted the village…it wouldn't have mattered even if you had brought him back…he still would have tried to leave again…" he pointed out, wishing that his statement wasn't so true. Sasuke was such a sweet child before his family was killed…and he probably would have been a great – loyal – shinobi if it hadn't been for that event.

"Iruka-nii…I never told him…how much I loved him…" Naruto said softly as he looked out the window, his eyes filling up with unshed tears. "Do you think it would have made a difference in him betraying the village?"

"…I don't know…" Iruka answered truthfully, smiling sadly when he saw Naruto's eyes starting to droop. "Go back to sleep…you need your rest so you can recover…or else I won't be able to come visit again."

"You snuck in, didn't you?" Naruto asked drowsily, his sight already beginning to become unfocused. He felt Iruka brush away a few strands of hair and gently kiss his forehead, which seemed to have a calming effect on him. Naruto quickly fell back asleep, the last thing on his mind before he fell into a dreamless slumber was whether or not Kakashi had told Iruka how he felt. _Pakkun and Kakashi must have thought I was out…_Naruto thought to himself with a smile, remembering how the jounin finally admitted that he cared about Iruka far more than he himself even realized.

--

"Anko-sempai," Iruka greeted, smiling at the woman as he slipped into a chair across from her. Glancing around the restaurant, the chuunin wondered what kind of establishment it was. It was not only intimidating with all the elite jounin and foreign, unpleasant-looking shinobi surrounding them, but somewhat frightening with all the weaponry hanging on the walls. He could only imagine what kind of injuries would occur if a fight ever broke out here.

"Really, Ruru-chan…call me Anko," she replied as she smiled at the chuunin. The brunette nodded his head as he, again, glanced around nervously. If Ibiki caught them here…Iruka shivered, not wanting to know whether or not Ibiki got jealous that easily. He had the feeling there wouldn't be any witnesses willing to step up and tell the authorities what happened if Ibiki took it into mind to come after him. Shaking such thoughts from his head, Iruka remembered what the jounin had said. He had to admit that, if they were going to pretend to date, he had to show a little bit more familiarity than using honorifics. _Why did I agree to this?!_ He wondered, once again, as he caught Anko smiling at him.

"Then don't call me 'Ruru-chan,' please," Iruka said, hoping that she – and all the other Iruka fan club members – would drop the annoying nickname. He inwardly twitched, remembering all the times he had been called it when someone handed in a missions report. Iruka was just glad none of his students heard it – or called him it in the academy. He wasn't sure how well he would be able to take a bunch of children calling him such an embarrassing name.

"Alright, Iruka…so, what do you want to drink?" Anko asked curiously, raising a hand and waving over a busty waitress that Iruka hadn't noticed until she appeared at his side. Peering up at the Amazon-like woman, Iruka, again, wondered what he was doing here. He never felt comfortable around so many people, especially jounin – they didn't like the chuunin group all that much. Iruka had gotten mocked more than once by the less-polite of the jounin community over his status. For some reason, many thought it was funny he was still a chuunin or, if he actually tried to correct them about something, they looked at him condescendingly and ignored him. He shivered inwardly, remembering all the glares he had gotten when he had entered the shady establishment. It was like they could smell his non-jounin status and were somehow offended by it.

"Um…what?" Iruka asked, wondering why the waitress was giving him such a harsh look. He glanced over at Anko and saw her giving him a funny look. It was somewhere between curiosity and concern. Apparently his fear wasn't as well-hidden as he would have liked.

"What do you want to drink?" Anko repeated herself, hoping that Iruka was alright. He was sweating a little bit. _Maybe a jounin hangout wasn't the best place to come…I completely forgot how much some jounin look down at chuunin…idiots…they were chuunin once too…_Anko thought to herself. Realizing that the poor teacher wasn't about to answer her, she did so for him, "Warm sake and two cups…"

It wasn't until the large woman left that Iruka found his voice again. "I-I don't drink…" he said quietly, turning to look at Anko. She almost sweatdropped, amazed that Iruka somehow was able to teach at the academy, work at the missions office and _not_ drink. Even Ebisu swam in alcohol every now and again!

"Don't worry, I won't let you get too drunk. It'll just loosen you up a bit. You seem a little tense," Anko said, knowing her observation was an understatement. Poor Iruka was nervous beyond belief. "I didn't think that you would mind being here…they have the best alcohol in Konoha and, as long as you don't ask how it's made, some of the best food too."

Iruka inwardly shivered at that description, his mind imagining all the health hazards that could occur in a place like this and dirty hands was the least of his worries. "I-it's alright…I just didn't expect it to be so…" Iruka tried grasping for a polite term to describe the cramped, dark, and smoky place that had an underlying scent that he didn't even want to guess what it could be.

"Yea, I know…" Anko replied, smiling at Iruka's attempts to put words to his thoughts. Everyone thought the same thing about the small bar; it was disgusting here, but the majority of the customers were the kind of people who didn't really mind. Anko knew she had eaten in far worse establishments and this, in comparison, was fine dining. For someone like Iruka, however, she could understand how he looked around the place, worry on his face. There were some particularly shady characters here tonight, Anko had to admit. She felt for her kunai pouch, checking that it was open – just in case she needed quick use of it tonight. It, surprisingly, was rare for any fighting to break out, but there was always the chance.

"So, um…what now?" Iruka asked, not sure exactly what people did on dates. He knew people generally talked on dates, but he didn't know enough about Anko to hold a decent conversation. There were also dates where people did something – play games, do some kind of activity, etc. – but this certainly wasn't one of those dates. Iruka took a deep breath, wondering if he could ask that burly waitress for some water when she finally returned. He didn't want to find out how much alcohol he could take in a place like this.

"Well, tell me about yourself…I heard from Gai that you're training with him," Anko said calmly, still a little surprised with that fact. When the Green Beast of Konoha exclaimed that Iruka had bested him with his superior youthfulness – on multiple occasions – all the rest of the jounin in the room could do was stare in amazement. Strangely, Kakashi seemed to be the only one unfazed. Then again, it took quite a bit to get a reaction out of the man.

"Un…the Sandaime wanted me to work on my taijutsu," Iruka replied softly. "He assigned Gai to work with me, since we used to spar when we were young and Gai is…well…"

"The best," Anko supplied, smiling. There were few ways you could compliment Gai without mentioning his…unique personality. "I didn't know Gai sparred with you when you were little…was he just as…_youthful_ back then?" Iruka nodded, his worry lines lightening as he chuckled. "Jeez…a younger Gai…better you than me."

"It wasn't that bad…" Iruka replied, the barest of smiles coming to his face. "At least, back then, he didn't do those silly challenges with himself," he added, noticing how Anko sniggered at his comment. "What?"

"Just…some of those contests of his. One time, Gai found himself rowing a boat to Suna…" Anko replied, remembering exactly how Gai got in that mess. Kakashi had won at their staring contest, but she kept that extra bit of information to herself.

"But, there's no water leading to Suna…it's all forest and desert," Iruka pointed out, catching the smirk on Anko's face. "He didn't…"

"It was quite a long trip…good thing we weren't in a hurry…" Anko said, remembering how stupid the spandex-loving jounin had looked in his small rowboat, energetically flailing his oars on the sandy dunes between Konoha and Suna. She heard the chuunin chuckle – he probably got a similar image – and she found herself laughing alongside him.

Once Iruka was able to finally stop his laughing, he wiped the tears from his eyes and was surprised to see that there was a sake bottle and two porcelain cups on the table and the waitress was nowhere in sight. Wondering where the woman could have gone, Iruka glanced around the small room and could see that several people glaring at their table. Iruka quickly looked back at Anko and found himself watching as she gently poured the bottle's contents into their cups, Iruka decided that one drink couldn't hurt…

It's too bad that Iruka found out, not only did he have no willpower, but he didn't have much of an alcohol tolerance that night. By the time Anko and Iruka stumbled out of the dingy bar, filled with (surprisingly) good food with questionable ingredients and far too many bottles of sake, they were hanging off each other, laughing about something only other people filled with drink could possibly begin to understand.

It took quite a bit of time to meander back towards Iruka's apartment, which they decided was closer than the kunoichi's. Once they reached the front of the door, Iruka thanked whatever gods existed that he never locked his door – he knew that he wouldn't have been able to figure out how to work the key. Iruka opened the door and gestured for Anko to come in. She did so, clutching to the wall as she felt the ground moving under her.

"'Ruka…you are an evil man…" she slurred, holding onto the wall as she walked forwards tentatively, hoping that the floor would stay still long enough for her to kick her sandals off. "You didn't tell me you play drinking games…"

"I do?" Iruka asked as he closed the door behind himself, leaning against the cool wood. He blinked several times, trying to remember how exactly he had gotten back to his apartment. Everything since those first few drinks was quite blurry. He took a few steps and found himself drifting towards the couch, Anko following uneasily behind him. With a sigh of relief, he plopped down on one side of the piece of furniture and the kunoichi did the same, falling to the side and landing on his shoulder.

"I've never met someone as good as you at beer shuriken…" Anko complimented, patting the chuunin on the chest. "Those poor Suna guys didn't have a chance!" She snorted, remembering how the group of Suna jounin had been beaten sorely in the shinobi drinking game of choice by the lightweight chuunin everyone had been glaring at earlier. By the time they left, everyone was calling for Iruka to come back soon. There were even a few people brave enough to ask for his number. It only took one glare from a half-smashed Anko to get them to back away in fear.

She, unlike the chuunin she was leaning on, was still sober enough to remember most of their night. After the first bottle of sake was gone – Iruka having only two or three cups from it – she ordered another despite Iruka's slurring protests. It only took a few more drinks for Iruka to loosen up to the point he was flushed and laughing at nothing in particular. Someone in the bar, of course, thought he was laughing at them, which started a whole fight. Anko had actually sat back, wondering what Iruka would do when drunk and was amazed to see his speed rivaled that of the spandex-lover that was teaching him. Even as shit-faced as he was, Iruka pinned the larger, stronger, and far more sober jounin in the blink of an eye. Anko hadn't even seen him pull a kunai out of the pouch on his thigh, but there it was, gingerly pressing into the jounin's neck.

Seeing her 'date's' drunken skill, Anko suggested a game with the offended jounin and his friends, once they nursed their wounded pride with a few more drinks. The game quickly turned into a bar-wide affair and the gambling was quick to begin as soon as they saw Iruka woozily try to get over to the starting line for the game. Anko seemed to be the only person putting money on the poor chuunin. It had only taken a few quick shots at the beer bottles for people to drop their mouths in amazement and the betting instantly flipped over to Iruka. Somehow, the little chuunin had been able to open each beer bottle with the projectiles the game was named after without breaking a single one from across the bar – the whole point to beer shuriken. For every bottle broken or missed, the thrower had to drink it. Iruka, unlike his many opponents, only drank the sake that Anko brought him every now and again while she made a fortune in the betting ring.

"I'd like to see you try that sober," Anko finally stated, wondering if such a skill was even possible when not dulled by an amazing amount of alcohol. She glanced over at Iruka and found him slowly nodding off. "Oi, at least show me where I'm sleeping tonight before you pass out on the couch."

"Take m'room…" Iruka mumbled, waving his hand in the general direction of his bedroom. Anko shook her head as she hesitantly got up, weaving slightly as the room righted itself. With a sigh, she pulled the chuunin, now groaning, to his feet and, draping his arm over the back of her neck, slowly dragged him towards what she hoped to be his room.

"You have too many doors, baka," she retorted as she finally decided on a door after blearily peering at several. She kicked the door, wincing at the slight cracking noise she heard. Somewhere in her drunken mind, she promised to repay Iruka for the door, but right now, she was more concerned in reaching the neatly made bed in the center of the room. _Definitely Iruka's room…_she thought, remembering last night and what she and Kurenai had caught a glimpse of. Half-carrying the chuunin to the bed, Anko finally dropped him down onto the mattress. Iruka wiggled a bit so that his whole body was on the bed and the jounin had to bite back a chuckle at how cute he was – even as inebriated as he was.

Iruka spread out on the bed, leaving little room for anything or anyone else. With a glare, Anko clambered onto the bed and pushed the chuunin over until there was enough room for her to lie down too. She put her head down on the soft pillow and let out a sigh of relief. "Some first date, ne?" she asked, cracking open one eye to look at the chuunin next to her. Iruka pulled his face out of the mattress and glanced over at her.

"Are all your first dates like this?" Iruka asked, his voice a little less garbled as he came out of his half-conscious stupor. He squirmed a little more so that his head was resting on the bed's other pillow and looked at Anko, immediately noticing the blush on her face.

"Not exactly…"

"Eh?" Iruka raised an eyebrow – or at least, he thought he did, but he wasn't too sure which muscle went where. For all he knew, he could have been wrinkling his nose at her. He watched the kunoichi smirk into the pillow and, for the first time tonight, he remembered she was one of the leaders of his fan club.

"Every other first date, I've gotten at least a kiss…" she replied seductively. Iruka squinted at her, wondering if she was being serious. "Aw, don't tell me you won't even give me a little kiss, Iruka…" Iruka sighed, watching her pout for several seconds, before he leaned over and quickly pressing his lips against her warm cheek. Iruka quickly pulled away and laid back down, getting ready to go to sleep.

"Goodnight, Anko…" he said softly and tried to bury his head back into his pillow, but he moved too slowly and caught the woman's quivering lower lip. Cursing his kind personality, Iruka looked back over at her and studied her for a moment.

"Come on, Ruru-chan…one little kiss?" Anko pleaded, giving Iruka her best attempts at an innocent face. She could see the brunette roll his eyes before he leaned back over and let his face hover over hers. Anko could feel her heart speed up as the chuunin's soft eyes looked down at her with something other than the gentleness Iruka was known for. Feeling the anticipation building up to an almost unbearable level, Anko tilted her head up, bringing her lips close within a mere hairsbreadth from his; close enough to the brunette's that she could feel his warm breath tingle against her parted lips.

Iruka closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. For a moment, he wondered how exactly it was he wasn't nervous or worried, since he had never kissed anyone else. The chuunin swore that, if he didn't know any better, he would have thought he had done this before. Sure he knew precisely what to do, Iruka let out a shaky breath – trembling not because of nerves, but because he wanted to know so badly what this feeling was that began in the pit of his stomach as he felt the kunoichi's breath against his face.

The chuunin bent down, brushing his lips so gently against the kunoichi's that she questioned whether or not he even touched her. Lifting her head up a little higher, Anko found herself unable to breathe as her lips pressed against Iruka's, finding his skin to be so much warmer than her own that it almost burned to be so close. Her heart skipped a beat as the young teacher returned the sweet pressure, moving his lips against her own so achingly slow. Anko found herself almost gasping when the brunette opened his mouth and gingerly trailed his tongue along the top of her lower lip. The teacher's simple, yet completely seductive, actions made her gasp as her body began to tingle in pleasure. She inwardly whimpered when Iruka stopped teasing her at such a torturous pace, but lost that train of thought when he deepened the kiss, his tongue mapping every inch of her mouth, knowing exactly how deep to go and how much pressure to use to get the kunoichi to gasp softly. Finally getting over the amazing realization that her fan girl fantasy had come true – that _Iruka_ was kissing her! – she returned the kiss, savoring the sweetness of sake on his lips and tongue. The taste wasn't entirely from alcohol, though. Anko could detect hints of their dinner and a salty flavor she couldn't place as anything other than the chuunin. Anko wove her hands into the chuunin's hair, finding the young man's kiss more arousing than far more sexual acts by past lovers. In mere moments, she found herself wanting the man in such a way, she was far more than willing to beg for him. Then, just as soon as it had begun, Iruka pulled away and Anko found herself wishing he that amazing kiss would have never ended and, hopefully, had turned into something more.

Once she had caught her breath, Anko glanced over at Iruka, who was blushing furiously while trying to feign sleep. "…who taught you how to kiss?" she asked, her heart sinking when she realized she already knew the answer. There was only one jounin who had ever been able to make her feel like that before, but he lost his chance with Iruka forever in one single night. Laying back into the pillow, Anko found herself quickly drifting off into dreamless, alcohol-induced sleep.

Iruka's eyes widened at her question. _I_ know _someone asked me that before…_he thought to himself, remembering – while not in the same room – it had been in his house. _The kitchen…_he remembered, recognizing this curious feeling as the same he had when he looked into his kitchen this morning. For a moment, he stared into space, trying to remember who it was that asked him that once before, but all he could remember were, oddly, sweet dimples that he just _knew_ fit the blurry face of their owner. He could somehow tell it was the same person that had come to mind as he kissed the kunoichi next to him, but he mentally shook his head. The image was so hazy that he could only make out those indentations on the person's delicately-shaped face and light colored hair. Iruka couldn't place exactly what color it was, just that it was an unusually pale shade that somehow suited the mysterious person. Sighing, Iruka admitted that Mizutamari Mari had done something to his memory and he finally answered Anko, though he already knew she was asleep, "I don't know…"

--

Authoress//twitches// do you KNOW how much that disgusted me//cries// I made Iruka kiss someone other than our beloved (yet oh so socially-inept) Kakashi!!!! AND IT WAS A GIIIIIIIRL//buries self into a hole and rocks back and forth in the fetal position// now that I've written the only hetero stuff of this story (hopefully)…unless, of course, things don't turn out the way I hope…Okay…I'm going back to the story at hand…and for those of you who remember Kakashi asking our sweet Iruka that same question in earlier chapters //hands out cookies// hehe…Iruka remembered Kakashi's dimples…

--

Kakashi leaned back on the roof, smirking at how easy it was for him to escape the hospital. He knew it wasn't because of any prowess of his own, but that there was some kind of commotion on the other side of the hospital…something about some jounin getting in a fight…and he took his chance to slip out before they realized he was gone. He sighed, remembering why he was in the hospital in the first place. _Damn it…I can't get him out of my head…_the jounin thought as he glanced down at the roof's tiles, wondering if he was in his apartment right now. It was late enough that Iruka should have been back from wherever he was, but Kakashi couldn't sense his distinct chakra. Then again, Iruka might be training in that suspicious room of his or, for some reason, disguising his chakra. Kakashi sat back, waiting to feel Iruka's chakra before going in the apartment. He didn't want a greeting like last night's – he almost got his head bitten off! Kakashi winced, however, when he remembered the rest of last night. He nodded to himself, knowing the reason he was here. _Iruka deserves an apology…_he decided, taking a deep breath and trying to think of something intelligent he could say to the chuunin that would get Iruka to forgive him and take him back.

He was about to get up to walk around a bit before his limbs fell asleep while trying to plan out his apology to the brunette, but froze when he heard two familiar laughs. He peered over the roof and saw Iruka and, surprisingly, Anko weaving their way up to Iruka's apartment. He was about to go down and speak to the chuunin, but stopped himself when he realized they both had to be drunk from their inability to walk in a straight line and their loud giggling. Raising an eyebrow at their obvious intoxicated state, he watched as the two carried each other into the house and, at that point, knew he had to find out what was going on. He slipped down the side of the building, clinging to it with his chakra. Kakashi knew he didn't have to be particularly careful with revealing his chakra – drunks weren't all too observant when it came to the delicate art of scanning for energy.

Kakashi leaned against the wall and began picking up snippets of their conversation. _Beer shuriken? Iruka said he didn't drink…_he thought, wondering how good the chuunin could have been. Even for a genius like him, it was more of a lucky shot than any kind of skill. He froze, however, when he heard a crack and the two tumbling into the chuunin's room…the room whose window a certain spying jounin was right next to. Kakashi remained perfectly still, just in case Anko wasn't as drunk as she seemed, but from the little bits of whispered conversation he heard next made him almost throw all caution to the wind and jump in and give the crazed kunoichi what she deserved for suggesting poor, innocent Iruka kiss her as part of their 'date.'

What he heard next, though, made him lose control of his chakra and slip from the wall, falling a few feet before he caught his footing again and quickly scrambled back up the wall to continue to listen. Those sounds were distinctive, but he couldn't believe it, so he peered into the window and immediately regretted it. He winced inwardly when he saw the two laying across the bed, Iruka leaning over Anko, kissing her passionately. Kakashi bit his lip as he pulled himself away from the scene, his chest suddenly feeling constricted.

Kakashi quickly leapt off the building's side, not wanting to hear or see anymore of the two. He closed his eyes as he walked along, but couldn't get the images of _himself_ kissing Iruka, gingerly touching the brunette…being inside him…out of his mind. Kakashi didn't need to open his eyes, having already memorized the route long ago, so he was surprised when he felt water leaking out of his closed eye. He quickly brought up a hand to the right side of his face and wiped away the tears. He froze, however, when he realized which eye had been crying. It had been so long since he, and not Obito, had cried that he found himself unable to believe he was still capable of such a thing. Kakashi opened his visible eye long enough to see the salty liquid glistening on his fingertips before his vision started to blur and the jounin had to blink several times before he was able to see clearly again. Before the tears came back to his natural eye, Kakashi quickly took off towards the only place left that would ever give him solace.

--

LostHope: I don't think that I have ever hated Anko as much as I do right now. Kakashi was finally starting to show some sensitivity and compassion, and she goes and does this! I could cry. :'(

Authoress:…yeaaa…talk about bad timing…poor Kakashi…I really am starting to feel sorry for him…he was about to go and beg Iruka to take him back//sighs// men…always jumping to conclusions…so, anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter of Underneath the Scars…and please review!!! It's so nice when I get to hear of what you guys think about the plot or certain parts of the story!!! So, until next chapter, ja ne!!


	15. Forgetting Him

Authoress: Dear GOD!! It's been forever since I've last updated!! GOMEN!! College (and those damn chemistry classes) got in the way…/cries/ So, anyways…I'm on spring break right now, so I'm determined to get at least one chapter pumped out before I have to go back to the hellish realm of a pre-med student!! YOOOSH!! And I would like to dedicate this chapter to my sister's friend, Nelly (I hope I spelled it right…)…my sister found out one of her friends read my story, and we've been e-mailing each other back and forth since…/cries happily/ such a wonderful reader!!

Disclaimer: /sniffles/ if only I owned Naruto…ahhh…/drools/ kukuku /drowns from her massive nosebleed/

Chapter Fifteen

Kakashi looked down at the sleeping teen and, despite his internal promise not to make any sound that had the chance of waking him up, sighed loudly. The teen's bandaged features shifted slightly; his tiny nose scrunching up as though he knew exactly who it was keeping a vigil near his bed. Kakashi smiled sadly as he shifted his position on the windowsill. In the hour or so he had been sitting here, he had yet to work up the courage to further enter the room, but he had gotten quite a cramp in his rear as a reward for being such a coward. Wincing at the screaming ache in his backside, Kakashi stretched his legs out and silently slid off the windowsill, his feet gently touching the hospital floor as the jounin studied the boy's face for any movement that would tell him he had woken him up.

Seeing the blonde's nose twitch slightly, reminding him of a rabbit, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and took a few cautious steps towards the bed. He had scanned the room earlier and had noticed the only chair in the room was right next to Naruto's bed – a definite sign that someone had gotten here before him. Kakashi knew that the only person who would have been sitting next to the boy's side was none other than the chuunin who was currently drunk beyond belief and off sleeping with that crazy kunoichi. He inwardly cursed, wishing he hadn't looked into Iruka's bedroom before.

He had sat by the memorial for a few hours, trying his hardest to forget that image, but nothing was helping. His dead friends remained silent, as usual, and Kakashi finally decided that sitting there was only making him feel worse. At that point, he had decided there was only one other place he could go that might help him. Kakashi had, at first, been surprised at how easy it was to slip into Naruto's hospital room, but then remembered how almost everyone feared the boy. The doctors and nurses were probably _hoping_ someone would sneak in during the night and kill the blonde so they would no longer have to deal with him.

Kakashi fought the urge to hit himself for such a thought. It had taken him so long to get use to the idea of training the Kyuubi's container, but he now accepted Naruto as not only a shinobi, but someone who would one day be capable of great things. Taking a few more steps, Kakashi rounded the bed and quickly sat down in the chair next to Naruto. The boy furrowed his eyebrows, as though he knew the silver-haired pervert was right next to him and he was trying to think of some witty comeback – as usual…as though the past few days hadn't happened.

Kakashi took a shaky breath, remembering how he had found Naruto – barely alive. He tried to forget how his heart had momentarily stopped when he saw the boy's small body just lying there. At that moment, Kakashi had felt his entire world come to a screeching halt as he tried to imagine what his life would be like without the bright, annoying brat in it. As much as Naruto tried the little patience he had, the boy had quickly become one of the greatest parts of his life. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were three of the few reasons Kakashi got up in the afternoon. They were so much like his own genin team that Kakashi constantly found himself remembering all his team's lessons together – how he and Obito were constantly at odds with each other. For the first time since he lost his best friend, Kakashi found himself able to remember the Uchiha without breaking down – he was finally able to remember all the wonderful moments they had together…the laughter, the pranks…even the tears. They were moments that made Kakashi into who he was, but he had blocked out until those three brats had become his responsibility.

_And look at how I took care of them…_Kakashi mentally berated himself, biting his inner cheek to stop himself from letting out another sigh. Not only had he let Sasuke and Naruto's silly rivalry go on, but he didn't even see how much Naruto cared about Sasuke…how he was ready to give his life just to keep a stupid promise to Sakura… _Was it the same way for Sensei?_ Kakashi wondered, praying that he and Obito hadn't been such annoying brats, but a part of him knew that they were the same, if not worse. Kakashi inwardly chuckled, knowing that, in some ways, Obito and his relationship was far more trying on their teacher than these two. He had been made a jounin far too early – and Obito had never forgiven him for that. Their sensei had to deal with two teens that not only had an age-old rivalry, but one teen was mentally unstable and already more powerful than the majority of the village's shinobi, while the other was emotionally fragile and had equal potential. Sighing inwardly, Kakashi wondered how their situation had been so different from Sasuke and Naruto's. If anything, they were exactly the same, except for the fact Sasuke or Naruto hadn't been upped to jounin yet (thank the Gods!).

_How did I not see this coming?_ Kakashi wondered, leaning forwards to brush a few hairs off of Naruto's head. It had been identical to his relationship with Obito, but a part of him was so sure that such a thing could never happen again. It took seeing the blonde laying motionless – his body covered in blood, his clothes tattered, and a hitai-ate resting on his chest – for Kakashi to finally realize his mistakes. Closing his eyes, Kakashi recalled that first moment he caught sight of Naruto. He never thought he could feel such pain again – not since he had felt Obito's limp hand slip from his own and that uninjured eye slowly go out of focus. Kakashi had to bite back a sob as he remembered using the last bit of chakra in his body to shoot over to the blonde, every fiber of his body praying that he wasn't too late this time. He ignored the screaming pain in his legs as he dropped to his knees feet from the teen, his momentum propelling him forwards in the loose gravel, tearing the skin of his knees and shins, but the pain was nothing compared to the dread encompassing his heart as he finally came to a stop next to Naruto. He had used more care than he ever knew he had to put shaking fingers to the boy's neck, his worse fears coming to life as he searched for a single beat, no matter how weak. When he realized there was no pulse…that the boy was gone…Kakashi had blacked out.

It hadn't been until the trip back that Pakkun told him that he had draped his body over Naruto's, crying as he softly repeated a mantra of "God…no…" that eventually became a choked scream as he pounded a fist into the teen's chest. Dropping his head into his hands, Kakashi took a deep breath and asked him the same question that had been plaguing him since he had finally returned to sanity and found the teen taking wheezing gasps of air: had Naruto really been dead for a short while? _If I hadn't lost it, would I have accepted that he was dead? Did I revive him? _Kakashi peeked out from between his fingers at the sleeping teen and hoped that it had only been in that moment of paralyzing fear that he had somehow missed the boy's pulse – that Sasuke hadn't really succeeded in killing the blonde, that he hadn't completely failed as a teacher and lost one of his beloved students, for no matter how brief a period of time, that because of him and his inability to see Sasuke's instability, the Kyuubi had almost been released.

Dropping his gaze back down to the floor, Kakashi wondered what he would have done if he hadn't come around to the sound of those wet gurgles – the screams of injury to the boy's otherwise functioning lungs – or the growing red stains across his once orange jumpsuit – proof that his heart still pumped blood. How could he have brought the boy's body back to Konoha? How could he have looked at Naruto's friends at the funeral without knowing all of this was his fault? How could he hand in such a missions report – one in which he would have to admit that Naruto was dead? How could he ever explain to the Hokage that he – an elite jounin – wasn't able to save two genins from such a fate? But, most of all, how could he have come back to Konoha with Naruto's body…walk to the home of the boy's only family…knock on the unlocked door…look into those doe eyes filling up with tears as they scanned the blonde's limp body? How could he tell Iruka that his student, his friend, his brother…his son…was dead?

Kakashi closed his eyes, feeling the droplets leaking down his nose and dropping to the floor. He hastily wiped the wet trails from his face, hoping that Naruto wasn't awake to see such weakness. In the hours since seeing Iruka and Anko, his eyes had yet to run out of tears. A part of the jounin was worried that there was no end to the tears, while another part of him was sure it was from years of bottling up all emotions that he had finally snapped. _It's all my fault…_Kakashi told himself. Sasuke's betrayal, Naruto's brush with death, Sakura's broken heart, Iruka's new bed partner…he caused all of this because he believed himself to be emotionless…that he couldn't care for anyone and no one could possibly have any feelings for him. Looking at his unconscious student, Kakashi now knew that to be the farthest thing from the truth. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke did – in their own twisted way – care about him. They would have probably been some of the very few people to care if he had died. _Iruka…_ Kakashi took a gasp of air, realizing now what a mess he had made with the chuunin. He had opened up to Iruka more than he had ever done with another shinobi…even Obito. Iruka knew who he really was behind his emotionless exterior, the romance novels, and lazy attitude. The chuunin was the only person who accepted him in all his faults, with all the mistakes he had made in his life, and all the scars he was forced to bear.

"Iruka…" Kakashi finally dared to say the young man's name out loud, however whispered it was in attempts to not wake Naruto up. A new wave of tears came over the jounin as he brought his knees up to his chest and rested his wet face on top of them. He felt his body start shaking uncontrollably as he pictured that brief moment – seeing Anko in Iruka's arms…kissing him…moaning…

_He did say he had a secret affair…_Kakashi reminded himself, smiling bitterly into his legs as he recalled the young man's blush as the jounin suggested the idea. That first kiss…that day…it seemed like so long ago. _I never thought it was still going on...maybe I should have asked him about it more…_Kakashi thought, biting his lip as he added this to his growing list of unforgivable mistakes. _If he was with Anko all this time…I took advantage of him last night…he was heartbroken over what happened with Naruto…and I was a friend he trusted…how could I have done that to him? _Kakashi cursed softly, wishing that Iruka had fought against him…told him he already had a lover…indicated that he had reservations about what they were doing…_anything_ that would have set off warning bells in the jounin's head…something that would have gotten him to stop before they went too far…

Kakashi looked up when he heard the rustling of sheets, his visible eye widening when he saw a pair of sleepy, blue orbs glaring at him. That glare quickly turned into surprise as Naruto completely turned onto his side so he could see the jounin. _Shimatta…_Kakashi cursed inwardly, wondering how he hadn't noticed Naruto had woken up at some point.

_…Kakashi-sensei?_ Naruto stared at the silver-haired man, his eyes taking in the glistening trails down the man's cheeks. It was such a surprise to see the usually emotionless jounin crying that it took Naruto a few moments to realize that it wasn't only that he saw tears on the man's face…but that he saw the man's _face_. The lower portion of Kakashi's face was unmasked, wet with tears, but what got Naruto to raise an eyebrow the most was the man's overall expression – Kakashi was devastated.

"Yo…" Kakashi finally broke the silence, slowly raising a hand in greeting before trying to wipe his face dry. He inwardly cursed again, wishing that his voice hadn't quivered as he spoke, his tone screaming that something was horribly wrong.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath in order to fight the urge to get out of his hospital bed and beat the crap out of his sensei. If it hadn't been for the visit from a certain demon, he would have done just that. Mizutamari Mari had slipped in a few hours after Iruka left this afternoon and explained why the chuunin was a little…off. _Bastard…_he thought, but kept the comment to himself. It was obvious Kakashi was already beating himself up enough over what he had done to Iruka…or was it something else that got the Copy Cat Nin to break down crying? "Don't 'yo' me, Kakashi-sensei…you're late…" Naruto caught the jounin's lips quirk up in a smile for the barest of seconds, showing off deep depressions in his cheeks, only to return to their original, depressing state. If the timing had been different, Naruto knew he would relentlessly mock his teacher for his dimples. "What do you want?"

"To apologize…" Kakashi said softly, his voice hesitant as he looked into Naruto's eyes. If he hadn't been looking at the man as he spoke, Naruto wouldn't have believed it was his teacher who had uttered such words – not simply because it was _Kakashi_ who was apologizing, but that his voice was so soft, so pain-filled…so fragile…that Naruto wouldn't have been able to recognize it otherwise. "I should have been able to stop Sasuke before…before all of this…"

"That's all you need to apologize for?" Naruto retorted, his earlier glare returning as he watched the jounin – the feared Hatake Kakashi – wince at his reply. Kakashi looked away for a moment, giving Naruto a perfect view of the deep scar traveling up his cheek and underneath his crooked hitai-ate. "I know about you and Iruka…"

Kakashi wasn't even surprised at the boy's comment. Who else could Iruka have told besides the blonde? It was the hatred that leaked out with Naruto's words that surprised him. Kakashi never knew Naruto to be one to hold hard feelings – especially the pure loathing that his usually cheery voice currently held. The only person Kakashi had ever heard Naruto use such a tone with was Sasuke…and that, he knew now, was only the teen's way of showing his affection towards the Uchiha. "I made a mistake…I know that…" Kakashi finally said as he looked up into the blonde's azure eyes. Naruto's gaze was unforgiving, but something in his face caved slightly as he studied the jounin next to his bed.

"You won't get another chance," Naruto replied softly, wishing that he could hate the silver-haired man. He could see the pain…the honesty…in Kakashi's eyes, which only made him pity the jounin all the more. It also made what he knew he had to do all the more difficult. He inwardly took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he knew was the only way to protect Iruka from the jounin. "Iruka and Anko have been a couple for a while…he never told you because he thought you might look at him differently." Naruto saw the glimmer of agony that crossed Kakashi's face at the mention of the sadistic kunoichi, guessing that Kakashi had somehow figured out that odd relationship on his own. _To think Baa-chan would force elite jounin into this…Mizutamari Mari thought it was a good idea to have Anko act like a girlfriend/bodyguard for Iruka…but I don't know…it doesn't seem right…_Naruto thought to himself as he recalled the demon's smirk as he told the blonde about how, at that moment, Iruka was drowning himself in alcohol with Anko as some part of the woman's own agenda to get the torture expert, Ibiki, to notice her. _Who would have thought jounin were such cowards…she should just tell him she has a thing for Ibiki…Kakashi should go beg Iruka to take him back…and Baa-chan should mind her own damn business…_Naruto inwardly added as he watched the jounin bite a lip softly. It was obviously hard for Kakashi to sit here, his life…his emotions…visible to all. "Last night was an accident to Iruka…"

Naruto watched Kakashi for some kind of reaction and nearly dropped his jaw when he saw a few more tears slip out of Kakashi's visible eye, which was quickly followed by a stifled sob. Seeing the jounin's reaction to his lie got Naruto to realize something and that observation made his promise to Mizutamari Mari almost impossible. _Shit…he _**loves**_ Iruka…_ If he didn't have the past few hours to digest the idea of his favorite teacher and Kakashi being, well, seriously intimate, he probably would have gagged at the idea of even bringing it up, let alone telling Kakashi to keep as far away from Iruka as possible. _ Even if he loves Iruka…I won't let Kakashi-sensei hurt him again…_ "Stay away from him, Kakashi-sensei…"

Kakashi bowed his head, hoping to hide the fresh tears sliding down his soaked cheeks as he tried to accept what Naruto was saying to him. It was one thing to _see_ Iruka with someone else, but it was another thing entirely to have the kind blonde telling him to keep away. "You don't have to worry, Naruto…" he finally forced himself to say. He blinked back a few more tears, trying to ignore the ache from the mere thought of not annoying the brunette at every possible moment…of not going over to Iruka's to have a good meal, a hot cup of tea, or a deep conversation of politics or strategy…to watch the chuunin from a distance…to see those smiles that lit up the man's tan face, the laughs and giggles that got even Kakashi to smile, those soft, emotion-filled eyes. "I won't go near Iruka…"

A part of Naruto wanted to protest Kakashi's statement; it screamed for the blonde to tell Kakashi the truth – what Iruka was, what Mizutamari Mari did to protect him…how much Iruka really cared about the jounin – but he knew better. Kakashi couldn't be trusted with such information…he would somehow only hurt Iruka even more. _This is for the best…_Naruto reminded himself, again, as he forced himself to look at the broken-hearted shinobi. For a moment, he wondered if even Iruka had seen this side of the jounin. If he had, Naruto knew Iruka would have gone over to Kakashi and hold him – as he had done with the blonde on multiple occasions, but Naruto couldn't find it in his heart to do such a thing. Kakashi had destroyed any chances he had with Iruka in the blonde's mind and for someone to harm Iruka as deeply as the silver-haired man did was unforgivable. "Why did you do it, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked softly, giving his gentler side control for a moment. For a moment, he prayed that Kakashi would spout some kind of love-filled, romantic declaration that was a far cry from the jounin's emotionless nature. Maybe it would be enough…maybe if Iruka heard such a thing, he could come to grips with what Kakashi did.

"…I let things between us go too far…I realized I didn't want a long-term relationship with Iruka…" Kakashi lied, hoping that his quavering voice would be interpreted by the blonde as emotional – filled with the remnants of his previous state rather than the pain he felt as he heard his own blatant lie. He wanted nothing more than to go to Iruka right now and beg on his knees for Iruka to forgive him. If it meant a battle to the death with Anko for the chuunin, so be it… That realization got Kakashi to wrench himself out of his self-destructive line of thought. _How did I let it get this bad?_ He wondered, his gaze landing back on Naruto. The boy's eyes told him that Naruto had seen through his lie and could tell exactly what he was thinking, but there was something behind those azure orbs that got Kakashi to wince. To have someone like Naruto know his feelings and still ask such a thing was a shock to the jounin, giving him an idea of how badly he had, unintentionally, hurt Iruka.

"Good, since Iruka didn't either…he and Anko were waiting until he made jounin before announcing their relationship…shinobi aren't very accepting when a woman has a higher position than her lover…" Naruto commented. The last portion of his statement was the only true thing he had said – Konohagure could be just as sexist as other villages in some aspects despite all the freedoms they gave their citizens. As for the other parts of his reply, Iruka must have cared a great deal about the jounin to let things go so far…knowing Iruka, he was probably already planning on having Kakashi move in long before he let his physical needs overcome common sense. He inwardly sighed, knowing that Iruka wasn't ever planning on becoming a jounin. But, then again, now that he was no longer a pre-genin, Iruka could go on more difficult, longer missions and show everyone what a gifted shinobi he was. Iruka deserved such recognition for everything he had gone through to be able to control Mizutamari Mari.

"I see…" Kakashi replied softly. Naruto's explanation made perfect sense in his mind, despite the sinking feeling he had that Naruto was lying about something. He slowly got up out of the chair, taking a moment to brush his fingers against one of the blonde's heavily bandaged hands – hands that had fought for what he believed in…for who he loved. Even though he knew it was pointless in the first place, Naruto had still _tried_ to bring Sasuke back. It was something Kakashi knew he would never work up the courage to do. "For what it's worth, Naruto, I'm proud of you…you are a great shinobi." With that, Kakashi quickly turned away from the boy, but before he did so, Naruto caught the truth behind Kakashi's words in the jounin's visible eye.

Naruto didn't get the chance to reply to Kakashi's compliment – something that was almost non-existent in the jounin's vocabulary. Before his mind wrapped around the idea that _Kakashi_…the Copy Cat Nin himself…was proud of him, Kakashi slipped out of the window and into the soft light of dawn.

As Kakashi raced away from the hospital, there was only one thing on his mind: how would he be able to stay away from Iruka? How could he live in Konoha, knowing that somewhere in the village, Iruka was happy without him around…in time, he'll be waking up in Anko's arms, playing pranks with Naruto, teaching his demonic pre-genin classes as though nothing in his life had ever changed. Kakashi cursed, wishing there was some way he could forget the past few months with Iruka. Rubbing a hand against his, surprisingly, unclothed face, Kakashi cursed again. He had completely forgotten he had pulled his mask down hours ago. He quickly pulled his mask back up, thanking whatever gods existed that the material had finally dried after the first batch of unchecked tears. He had been unable to breathe through the thick, soaked cloth, so he had taken it off, never thinking that Naruto would wake up and see him unmasked. Looking back on it now, however, Kakashi really didn't care that the boy had seen his entire face. For all the pain he put his students through, the least he could do was show Naruto what kind of person he really was…an emotionally-lacking man, a liar, a person who had seduced and betrayed the kindest man to exist – an ugly creature that wore a beautiful face. God, Kakashi hated irony.

He looked up at the rising sun, remembering all the times he had to bury friends…people who would never see another dawn. Many times, he found himself wondering when his last sunrise would be. Would it be today, tomorrow, or years from now, after he retired from his dangerous, shinobi lifestyle. Obito used to say that dawn was when the world was reborn, when souls journeyed to the afterlife, but most of all, it was when people were forgiven, whether or not the forgiver realized it yet. _I hope Iruka will one day forgive me…_Kakashi thought as he looked up at the red clouds, trying to remember the last time he had seen such a colorful sunrise. He took a deep breath, realizing when he had last seen such vibrant shades – it had been the morning after Obito died…his first sunrise with the Sharingan. No one knew he was awake…they wouldn't have understood even if he had tried to explain why it was so important to him. Rin probably would have tied him down to keep him from moving. Their sensei might have been more understanding, but Kakashi hadn't taken the chance. He had snuck out hours before even the first light of dawn and dragged his body – sluggish from large amounts of drugs – to where Obito had been crushed. On top of that boulder, Kakashi had the perfect view of the sun rising – the perfect place to be reborn…to be forgiven for not protecting his comrade…his lover.

The Fourth had found him sleeping there hours later, his body curled against the base of the boulder, his small frame fitting into the scarlet stain Obito had left behind. Since then, Kakashi had never returned to that site, not knowing what to even do or say that might let him come to grips with losing Obito – and now he lost his first love's cousin…Obito must be rolling in his grave right now. Kakashi sighed as he watched the end of the brilliant sunrise, a part of him wishing that the beautiful display would never end. Then again, he knew that if it was a constant part of life, its beauty would diminish in people's eyes over time and eventually become nothing more than common. Perhaps such concepts could be used with people too; physical beauty existed only because it was fleeting, beautiful relationships could never last…and beautiful souls were never meant to always be there. For a moment, Kakashi wondered when he had started to become so philosophical, and then remembered that it had been one of the many topics that interested Iruka. _Kuso…is there anything that _doesn't _remind me of him?_ Kakashi wondered, glancing around at the still sleeping village as he walked along the streets. Almost every shop somehow reminded him of the young brunette. A grocery store – the first time he actually held a civil conversation with Iruka. A little café – Iruka always loved talking over an endless supply of tea. A book store – oh, how Iruka hated those Icha Icha novels. Kakashi sighed as he looked down the seemingly endless street, seeing no relief from his memories in sight. _I can't stay here…everything reminds me of Iruka…_Kakashi finally decided as he caught a glimpse of a small apothecary's shop – those damn leaves Iruka used on him itched.

The jounin stopped in mid-step when he recognized one girl exiting the store. _Yamanaka Ino?_ He watched as she tried to dry her eyes, but no amount of dabbing her wet eyes against a sleeve would get rid of the red tinge to her eyes. Kakashi would have wondered what would get Sakura's rival to cry, but saw something covered being carried out after her. He had been around death far long enough that he recognized its distinctive scent as (what he assumed to be) the shrouded body being carried away by a man that held an eerie resemblance to the blond girl.

For a moment, Ino looked up from the ground, her eyes following who Kakashi assumed to be her father as he walked away. Kakashi didn't want to interrupt the family, so he was about to turn down a side street and continue his meandering, but found himself freezing again as a woman came out of the shop. Kakashi, for the first time in his life, found himself doing a double-take. _Anko?_ He looked at the woman, inwardly shaking his head as he studied her closer. She was obviously younger than the kunoichi, her eyes were too gentle and a slightly darker shade, her frame shorter and rounder, her clothing too conservative for Anko's taste, but otherwise, the woman could almost be mistaken for Anko. _Perhaps they're related…_Kakashi wondered, trying to remember if Anko had any family. He always thought of her as some kind of parentless, demonic spawn, but it would make sense even an evil creature like her would have some kind of family. Those poor people…

"Ino, I'm going over to a friend's house for a few minutes…he was very close to your grandfather and I should tell him about his passing…" the woman spoke, her voice far softer than Anko's. She gently hugged the girl. "If you like, you can come with me. I'm sure Iruka would love to see you too…he won't admit it, but he really misses you and all your friends."

Kakashi inwardly cursed, wishing there was just one thing – one _person_ – in the whole village that didn't remind him of Iruka. _Mate…close to an apothecary…it's probably where he got those Suna leaves…_ Kakashi, despite his depressed mood, found himself smiling. It had been something that had been aggravating him since that day. Where could Iruka have gotten poisonous, not to mention illegal, plants?

"Maybe we should wait a while…Iruka-sensei might still be sleeping. It _is_ the weekend, Kaa-san," Ino replied, her assured voice making her sound calmer than she obviously was. It was a good shinobi trait, but in moments like this, it seemed almost heartless. To think, Ino would care more about waking up Iruka than over her dead grandfather. Kakashi knew that wasn't the truth, but that Ino – like any other well-trained shinobi – was looking for something to take her mind off of what was bothering her…over-rationalizing everything around her so she wouldn't be overcome by emotion.

Kakashi studied the woman – Ino's mother – and found himself seeing even more similarities between her and Anko. If it hadn't been for a quick recollection of Anko's records – which he had 'accidentally' read one day while sifting through the Hokage's office years ago – he would have been sure she was closely related to Iruka's lover. According to that file, Anko had no family or any connections to the village whatsoever.

"Iruka doesn't sleep late, no matter the day of the week. Not even when we were growing up…he was always up even before your grandfather, cleaning up the shop, organizing everything…he was a true blessing. I still can't believe he turned out to be a teacher…he was such a prankster when we were little…" Ino's mother said softly, a soft chuckle in her voice. Kakashi felt his chest tightening, knowing exactly what the woman was talking about by 'prankster.'

"I guess I'll come, then." Kakashi, for a moment, wondered if he should follow the two females, but decided against it. Seeing Iruka again would only make his choice even harder. _I can't stay here…not if I want to get on with my life…not if I ever want to forget about Iruka…_

The only problem was that Kakashi never wanted to forget the chuunin.

--

_Knock, knock._

Iruka groaned softly at the echoing sound that seemed to be bashing against his head. He brought up a hand and held it against his aching temple, trying to remember if Gai had challenged him to some kind of strange standing-on-your-head-the-longest contest again. Opening an eye, Iruka immediately knew that couldn't be true. The kunoichi still blissfully asleep next to him said otherwise. _Anko…last night…we were drinking…_Iruka remembered, blushing softly when he remembered how their mock date ended. If he was lucky, Anko wouldn't recall that particular part of the night.

_Knock_.

Hearing the pounding again, Iruka moaned, wondering who could possibly be bashing against his door with so much force (and not break it) to get such a loud sound. Iruka heaved himself off the bed, trying not to disturb the kunoichi, but found himself heading towards the floor as soon as his feet hit the cool wood. Iruka had to catch himself on a nearby dresser and pull himself back up into a, somewhat, upright position. He shuffled out of the room, using the dresser, the wall, and whatever other solid objects he could get a hold of, in order to remain standing. Iruka leaned against the wall for most of the short walk to his front door, wondering who would be waking him up on the weekend. For a moment, Iruka played with the idea of going back to bed and ignoring his 'visitor,' but he immediately regretted it. It was just the pounding ache in his head that was making him so unusually short-tempered.

Iruka pushed off the wall and was able to make the last few steps to the door on his own – a fact he was quite proud of at the moment. Opening the door slowly, finding the wood to be quite a useful object to steady himself against (in case he needed it), Iruka was met with the two unlikeliest people to pay him an early morning visit.

"Bara?...Ino-chan?" Iruka fought back the urge to hiss at the bright light that invaded his apartment as he opened the door wider. Settling for squinting his eyes instead, Iruka opened the door fully and gestured for the two Yamanaka women to enter. "This is quite a surprise…"

"I'm sorry for coming so early, Iruka…I thought you would have already been up," Bara replied softly, her voice at almost a whisper to her daughter's ears, but to Iruka, she was speaking at a normal level. Iruka didn't have to thank the woman for her understanding over his current _condition_ – seeing the knowing smirk from her and the unspoken promise of an explanation was enough.

"Iruka-sensei…are you _drunk_?!" Ino all but exclaimed. Iruka winced at the girl's loud, high-pitched voice, wanting to cover his ears at such an offensive noise, but settled for taking a few steps back.

"_Ino_!" For a moment, Ino's mother forgot about Iruka's sensitivity to sound as she screeched at the girl for being so rude. Iruka, on the other hand, found himself clinging to the closest wall for support as the woman's words rang through his head.

"Iie…a hangover, Ino-chan…" Iruka said softly, hoping the two women would quiet down now that he admitted his own physical state. While Ino stared at him in amazement – probably over hearing the chuunin actually drank enough to _get_ a hangover – Bara shook her head.

"You don't drink, Iruka…" she pointed out as she ushered Ino into the kitchen, where she went to work making tea. Iruka simply followed after a minute of wondering if it was _all_ women that thought they could intrude on his small home or if it was just the ones he knew better than to refuse. As gentle as she seemed, Bara had quite a temper when she wanted to.

"Try telling half the jounin community and…my girlfriend that," Iruka replied, trying out Anko's new title. It seemed a little strange for him to call her his girlfriend, but that, in essence, was what she was, wasn't it? On the other hand, it was one twisted relationship…

"A girlfriend? You actually have time to date?" Bara asked, surprise in her voice, which had thankfully returned back to a soft whisper. Iruka nodded his head as he sat down across from Ino at the small kitchen table. The blonde was currently looking around his apartment, her curious eyes catching the few articles on the various tables. "What's her name?"

"Anko…we went out to dinner last night and ended up playing in a bar-wide beer shuriken tournament…" Iruka explained, getting a quiet giggle out of Bara and wide eyes from Ino. It was then that Iruka remembered Anko happened to be part of the chuunin exam this year.

"Mitarashi Anko? That crazy examiner from the chuunin exams? She was creepy…" Ino said softly, her tone brought down either now that she realized anything higher or louder would hurt her old teacher's ears or that she was afraid Anko would somehow hear her. Considering Anko was in the other room, that was quite a possibility, Iruka mused.

"She's not that bad…just _energetic_," Iruka replied, trying to find a word to explain Anko. He sighed softly as he looked over at Bara and saw that she was bringing him a hot mug of tea. Iruka found himself sniffing the brew for a moment, unable to figure out what kind of tea she used. Whatever it was, Iruka had never known he kept such horrible-smelling things in his kitchen.

"It'll help with your hangover…" Bara commented as she handed a different cup to Ino and kept a third for herself. Whatever she put in his tea was missing from theirs, Iruka decided, as he watched them drink their tea. He had yet to dare a sip.

"What exactly brought on this visit, Bara?" Iruka asked as he looked at the tea from another angle, wishing it would also change the liquid's ghastly aroma. He took a deep breath and gulped down a mouthful of the hot liquid, trying his best not to let it touch his tongue. Iruka almost immediately gagged as he realized the smell of the tea was nothing in comparison to its taste.

"Oh…" For a moment, Iruka's mind was taken off the taste in his mouth when he saw the woman's face fall. "Dad hasn't been doing too well lately…"

"I know…I visited him a while back…but he was still as spunky as ever," Iruka replied, keeping his voice even, while he inwardly felt a flood of fear overtake him. _Why did I visit him? _Iruka wondered, but was unable to come up with an answer.

"He…passed away this morning…" Bara said softly, lowering her head as she studied her tea. Iruka let the surprising information settle as he looked from Bara to Ino, unable to ignore the bit of pride he felt when he saw how well Ino was taking such devastating information. Then again, it might not have been her years at the academy that gave her that calm exterior right now, but the knowledge the old man was slowly dying for some time.

"I'm sorry…" Iruka whispered, unable to think of anything else to say to the woman he had grown up with…hearing that the old man who had been like an uncle to him was gone. It was quite a blow, but Iruka was surprised at how well he himself was taking the information. A part of him knew it wasn't last night's alcohol that was dulling his emotions, but there was something stopping him from getting as worked up as he usually did over a death. _Mizutamari Mari did something…_

"He passed away in his sleep…I'm glad it was painless for him…" Bara replied, keeping her eyes trained on her cup of coffee. "I spoke to him last night and he kept saying how he wished Asagao would come back…" She smiled sadly as she took another sip of tea. "I know it's impossible, Iruka, but if there's any information on her…"

"Everything I know, I told your father…" Iruka replied, wishing he could have some kind of good news for his childhood friend. Bara nodded her head, acceptance in her eyes. Iruka knew that he didn't have to say out loud that there was, pretty much, no chance she was even still alive. "Gomen…"

"Oi, Iruka! I'm never letting you suck me into beer shuriken again!!" Iruka, for a moment, found himself wondering if bashing his head into the table or drinking his whole cup of horrible tea would be less painful that Anko's scream from the other side of the apartment. Apparently she had finally woken up, Iruka theorized and, for a moment, counted his blessings that he hadn't been in the same room when she had awakened.

"I take it that's your girlfriend?" Bara asked, a chuckle in her voice. She saw Iruka drop his head down in a quick nod and couldn't stop from shaking her head. How sweet, quiet Iruka ended up with a loud woman like this was beyond her.

Iruka turned in his seat, watching the entrance to the kitchen and saw Anko slither in after a few moments. She seemed a little better off than he had when he first woke up. She was actually able to shuffle across the floor without any visible support. Iruka watched as she came up to the back of his chair and stole his tea. Before he got the chance to warn her about its contents, she drained the entire mug in one gulp.

"I didn't know you were into medicinal herbs, Iruka…" she commented as soon as she put the cup back down on the table. From the blank look on the chuunin's face, she elaborated, "Catnip, mint, honey, chamomile, and valerian root…it's the best thing for hangovers…"

(A/N: I made that mixture up (don't try it at home!). I was trying to think of something other than your usual caffeine-makes-all-things-better solution…and for those of you who don't know…valerian root is used as a sleep aid and (in its natural form) smells and tastes **_horrible_**_!!_)

"…you must be Anko," Bara finally said, which got Anko to jump back slightly. Iruka found himself chuckling – for an elite jounin, Anko wasn't too observant if she didn't notice his two guests. Iruka turned in his chair and found himself looking back and forth from Anko to Bara in surprise. It was almost as though he was having double vision for a moment. A small part of the chuunin wondered if it was simply a symptom of his hangover, but from the women's expressions, he wasn't the only one seeing double.

"…un…" Anko finally replied, taking a step back. From her amazed reaction, which mirrored Bara's, they both had just realized how similar they looked to the other woman in the kitchen. "I-I have to go, Iruka…"

Before Anko got the chance to perform a quick transportation jutsu, Bara caught her arm and held tightly. "Asagao?" That one utterance got Anko to freeze and Iruka found himself, much like Ino, watching the interaction between the two almost identical women in astonishment. "It _is_ you, isn't it?"

"…you've grown quite a bit, little sis…" Iruka found himself staring at Anko as she spoke. Not only was it what she was admitting, but that her tone held none of its normal assuredness, bravery, pride…if anything, Anko sounded tired and her voice was so soft, quavering so much that it seemed impossible for the usually confident woman to utter such words.

Iruka looked back and forth between the two sisters as a thick silence enveloped the room. Never before had he known Anko to look so vulnerable or _afraid_. Her eyes remained fixed on the floor rather than her younger sister, whose mouth was gaping open. Under any other circumstances, Iruka would have probably been happy that the two found each other, but he had to remind himself why exactly Bara was here in the first place. _How did I never realize Anko looked so familiar…so much like Bara and her father? _Iruka immediately knew the answer to that – by the time he started working in the missions office, the first place he ever saw Anko, it was after he had started working at the academy and he was so busy with his two jobs that he and Bara, who had her hands full with a toddler-aged Ino, never had time to get together anymore.

"You…you've been alive all this time?" Bara finally ended the almost painful silence as she finally regained the ability to move her mouth. Anko looked towards another spot on the floor, not wanting to meet her younger sister's hard glare. "How could you live in the village and never come home? Tou-san had been praying for you to return ever since you left…you never even came to tell him you were still alive!"

"I'd rather he not know I turned into the kind of shinobi he always hated…" Anko retorted harshly, her eyes finally moving from the floor to the younger form of herself. The last time she had been this close to her sister was when Bara was still a child…in her first years at the academy. Back then, Bara was a round little thing that had the sweetest smile, a laugh that was contagious, and eyes that told every emotion she felt. By then, Anko had already reached jounin status and was starting diplomatic missions to the nearby hidden villages. She couldn't have a genin team or be a team captain…in either case, she would be the youngest member of the team, yet the highest ranking one. People wouldn't have taken her seriously – not while she had yet to even hit puberty. Her face had still held the pudginess of childhood, her hair still tied back in ribbons, and she still had a teddy bear that she brought on every mission. No one ever saw Mr. Grr, but that poor stuffed animal had seen almost as many battles as she had back then. She had been forced to learn how to sew from all the times his head or a limb was sliced clean off during a particularly dangerous mission. Now, the bear, covered in multi-colored thread, marking his war wounds, had retired and was kept safely in a locked chest in her Spartan apartment.

"He just wanted to know if you were alive!" Bara snapped, forgetting Iruka's sensitive ears as her voice rose in both pitch and volume. Iruka tightened his fists underneath the table, fighting the urge to wince. Even Ino had jumped slightly at her mother's tone, since it was very rare for her mother to raise her voice.

"I betrayed Konohagure. The only reason I was let back into the shinobi community was because I had important information about Orochimaru. First I sell out our village, and then my master. Tou-san was right in not trusting the higher shinobi classes. We're ruthless bastards…" Anko replied, her voice just as loud as her sister's. Since she was standing right beside Iruka, he heard her voice ringing in his ears for quite a while after she finished. "I'd rather he thought I was dead."

"You don't have to worry about that…" Bara replied quietly. Iruka glanced over at her and saw tears coming to the woman's eyes. "We came over to tell Iruka that Tou-san died this morning…the last thing he said to me was that he wanted to see you one more time…"

Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka saw Anko take a step back, yet her features remained impassive. "I'm sorry…" she finally said softly. Iruka caught a glimpse of her body quiver and knew that, if it wasn't for his two guests, she would be breaking down right now. To have such a command over her emotions was an amazing feat. A part of Iruka couldn't help but be jealous of her ability.

"Come on, Ino, we have to get back home…" Bara all but whispered, her eyes focused on Anko. She pulled her gaze away long enough to glance over at Iruka and direct her next statement at him, "I'll send you the details of the funeral once we get everything arranged." With that, she quickly left. Ino had to literally run to catch up with her mother, giving Iruka a quick wave goodbye before she shot out of the house.

"I knew he was sick…but…" Anko finally mumbled as she took a step towards the table and rested her trembling hands on the cool wood. At the moment, it looked like the kitchen table was the only thing holding her up. Iruka debated on what he should do to comfort her. Some people preferred some kind of physical contact – a hug, holding their hand…something to let them know they weren't alone – while such acts only made other people worse. Iruka was hesitant to even make a noise, unsure of what kind of person Anko was. He quickly found out she was the earlier when she flung herself into him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as she buried her head into his chest.

Iruka returned the embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head, and took a deep breath. He could feel more than he could hear Anko crying. Her body was shaking uncontrollably, her tears already soaking through his shirt, and her warm, erratic breathing seeping through to his collar bone. Iruka tightened his arms around her, trying to shake the feeling that he had done exactly this before – although not with the woman huddled in his lap. He quickly went through the list of people he knew, trying to think of someone who would have broken down in his presence (besides Naruto), but couldn't think of anyone. _What did Mizutamari Mari do to me?_ He asked himself again, now sure that the demon had done something to his memories. If someone felt comfortable enough to cry in his arms, then they must have been close – so why would the kappa want to erase that from his memories?

After what seemed like an eternity of holding Anko, wondering who Mizutamari Mari had removed from his mind, Iruka felt her sobs slow down and eventually come to a stop, but she remained in his arms, taking deep breaths to steady herself. "I don't usually cry…" she finally whispered into his chest. Iruka ran his fingers soothingly along her muscular back, unable to come up with a name or a face to go along with this sense of familiarity. "I-I watched my father and sister from a distance…I didn't want them knowing I returned…they would have hated what I turned into…"

"They couldn't possibly hate you," Iruka replied, knowing that the only thing the old man wanted was to know whether or not his older daughter was still alive. He didn't care what she was or what she had done – just as long as she was healthy and happy. Bara, on the other hand, might have held hard feelings, but she would get over them. "He always joked that when you returned, we would get together…"

"And that old geezer was right…" Anko said quietly as she pulled her head away from Iruka's chest, quickly wiping at her wet face. "I…I actually told the Sandaime that I had to be one of the testers at this year's chuunin exams…it would have been the first time I ever got close to Bara's daughter without arousing suspicion…I watched her on my days off…when she was still in the academy…she and that Haruno Sakura can be quite bitchy…"

"Only when it came to Sasuke…" Iruka replied, remembering the one time Naruto had accidentally kissed Sasuke. He had been filled in on what happened before he got to the classroom later in the day. All he knew throughout that school day was that all the females in Naruto's class had beaten him to within an inch of his life for something or other he did. As usual, Naruto told him that it was Sakura and Ino who had started the whole 'Kill Naruto' mob mentality.

"I hardly even know her…" Anko said quietly, looking up at Iruka. "When she graduated, I was at the ceremony…and as soon as I found out Asuma was going to be her teacher, I told him to keep her out of trouble or else he'd have to deal with me, but other than that…I've never done anything for her…I've never even spoken to her…" Anko said with a chuckle. "Asuma and Kurenai were the only people I ever told…they didn't agree with what I did…but they accepted it."

"Being afraid of what your father would think of you isn't the only reason you stayed away, was it?" Iruka asked, getting the barest of pouts from Anko. He knew enough about the twisted mind of a jounin from his years at the missions office. They theorized things quite differently than normal people. "You wanted to protect them…in case Orochimaru ever came looking for you…" Anko didn't have to nod for Iruka to know he had figured out her real reason. The emotion in her eyes was more than enough. "You should have told Bara that…she would have understood that you were staying away for their own good."

"Iie…I don't deserve a family…" Anko replied as she slid off of Iruka's lap and back onto the kitchen floor. "I betrayed the village for power…I shouldn't be forgiven for that…" She absentmindedly picked up Iruka's empty mug and the other two half-filled cups of tea on the table and meandered towards the sink.

"And when Sasuke returns? Should he be hated too?" Iruka pointed out questioningly, amazed at how similar Anko and Sasuke's reasons for going to Orochimaru were. Iruka was surprised when Anko sent him a harsh glare from across the small kitchen – obviously his words hit a nerve.

"He's just a child…he doesn't know what he's done," Anko retorted, swirling around to fully look at Iruka. Iruka didn't have to verbally state that she was not much older than Sasuke when she left the village. "I was a _jounin_…I should have known better…I should have forgotten my childish ideals and been loyal to the village."

"…why _did_ you go to Orochimaru?" Iruka asked curiously. Sasuke went so that he could one day defeat his brother – to avenge his massacred clan – but Anko had no such reason that Iruka knew of. Her family was still alive when she left the village and, from what he had heard from the old man, Anko – or Asagao? – was second only to Kakashi and, of course, the legendary shinobi of Konoha – the Sannin, the Yellow Flash, and other such members of the elite.

"My father always told Bara…and you…that our mother became very sick and died. She was actually one of the highest classes of ANBU…a personal bodyguard to the Hokage and, when needed, a member of the Cleaning Team." Iruka bit back a gasp. That particular team (which was thought to be a rumor by almost everyone) was only called together when the Bingo Book became overrun with wanted criminals and they, in a number of days (literally), went after the top hits and eliminated them, clearing up the Bingo Books for months or even years. The last time he could remember such a group being called together was when he was still a child – when they were sent after Orochimaru…but it was the first time the team had ever failed in a kill…the only time there were any casualties. Iruka knew that the team's actual existence was supposed to be known only by shinobi that were ANBU or higher, but he also knew about that particular mission, which similarly wasn't common knowledge (but he had such data because of the fount of information known as Mizutamari Mari). The entire team had been wiped out – every body was sent back mutilated in the worst of ways, limbs and organs torn to shreds, what remained of some faces were sewn in grotesque expressions of fear. Even Mizutamari Mari shivered at such thoughts – he said on multiple occasions that Orochimaru was the only human he ever truly feared.

"She was part of the failed mission?" Iruka asked, getting a wide-eyed expression from Anko. She quickly brushed away the fact he knew something about the village's dark secrets that he really shouldn't have even heard of. He was in league with someone who all the jounin should know about…whatever Iruka was hiding, it was something she knew she'd find out sooner or later. A small part of Anko hoped that it would be sooner…before anything bad happened.

"Her body was one of the worst…I was still a chuunin at the time, but I had been bringing a mission report to the Hokage when they brought her body by…even then…I could still recognize her…" Anko whispered. "After seeing her like that, I was determined to become strong enough…so that I could defeat Orochimaru one day. When I realized that I couldn't gain such power by normal means, I decided to leave the village and take a new name…I wandered through the hidden villages for months before finding Orochimaru. He took me in when he saw my _potential_…he never knew who I really was…I trained under him for years, but I never was able to best him…even in sparring…

"I stayed with him for so long that I slowly started to forget why I even joined him…those years were so hazy. One day we were walking through a village…I didn't even recognize it as Konoha until a little blonde girl bumped into me, her mother flying after her and apologizing profusely for her daughter's clumsiness. I recognized Bara immediately…my heart almost stopped when I saw her daughter…I never realized I had been gone so long…my baby sister had grown up…she had a family of her own…Bara never got a good look at me because I bolted as soon as I could move again. It took Orochimaru weeks to find me over in Suna, but by the time he found me, I remembered why I had gone to him. I fought him and, if it hadn't been for my stubbornness and sheer luck…I would have died from the injuries. Orochimaru left me for dead on the outskirts of Suna…and for months after that fight, I wished I would just die. I failed in my one mission. A few kids found me on the dunes later that day – if it hadn't been for them, I would have bled out. If, somehow, I survived the wounds, I would have starved or died of dehydration…" Anko paused for a moment, looking down at her hands. "They didn't bring me into the village, but they built a shelter for me and took care of me. As soon as I could move again, I crawled back here and begged the Sandaime to let me back into the village…I told him everything I knew about Orochimaru, but never my real name or that my family was still alive…"

She pushed herself away from the sink and walked over to the kitchen table and sat across from Iruka. "It took the village's jounin so long to trust me after they found out I had been one of Orochimaru's minions…some of them are still cautious around me…" Sighing, Anko looked at Iruka and saw acceptance on his face. He was the first person she ever told her entire story to – not even Kurenai and Asuma knew why she went to the snake. She chuckled, remembering this year's chuunin exam. "I'm really glad I was one of the examiners this year…I got a chance to thank those three brats for saving my life…" She let out a soft snicker when she saw Iruka's mouth drop in amazement when he realized who she had been saved by. "All those years ago, Gaara was…adorable…"

"The Kazekage's children saved you?" Iruka all but mouthed, his eyes still wide in surprise. Anko nodded her head, remembering how the three kids – one still wobbly on his own two legs – were intelligent enough to know basic first aid. They had been crafty enough to sneak her food and water, to keep her sheltered from the elements and if their tiny bodies were capable of it, they would have brought her into the village and hid her somewhere. Gaara was too little to help his siblings most of the time, but he did everything he could to make Anko comfortable. Back then, he could only speak a few words, but those few that he did got her to mentally scream 'kawaii' every time. Her first night alone on the dunes without those three to keep a watch over her, Gaara left her with his beloved teddy bear. The only thing he said, with his adorable lisp, as he set the stuffed animal by her head was "shafe, shafe." That teddy bear reminded her so much of her own, Anko had spent most of the night up, pulling threads from her bandages in order to fix the beaten, yet obviously loved, creature. By morning, his eyes were back in their original places, his limbs no longer had the large, sloppy (and quite colorful) stitches of a child revealing where they had fallen off multiple times. She even had time to fix the animal's raggedy coat with bits of her own Mr. Grr. Her teddy bear had been stuffed so deeply into her kunai pouch and the fact she hadn't taken him out in all her years with Orochimaru, she had almost forgotten he was even there.

When Gaara and his siblings returned in the morning, the red-head was overjoyed with his fixed teddy. For a moment, his eyes had actually filled up with tears and he had glomped her – forgetting about her broken ribs and the gashes covering her entire torso. Those brief moments of agony were worth it – to see the little boy so happy was what got Anko to finally make up her mind about returning to Konoha. As soon as Gaara let go of her, she wondered about her own family – if her niece was just as sweet as this little child. She smiled and told Iruka about her time spent with the three Suna children, getting the chuunin to laugh at the thought of the blood-thirsty red-head as a chubby baby that dragged his teddy bear everywhere.

After some time, Anko finally fell quiet, not knowing what else she should reveal to Iruka. She knew she could trust Iruka, which was why she told him about her years with Orochimaru and being saved by those three, but there were some things she had done over the years that she didn't want to remember, let alone tell someone as sweet as Iruka about. Iruka, seeing the woman was done with her tales, tried to think of something he could tell her that would be equal to her stories.

"I haven't done anything as amazing as that…I just raised Naruto, teach at the academy, and work in the missions office," Iruka finally admitted, getting a chuckle from Anko.

"That's far more dangerous than anything I've ever done…a hyperactive kid and little pipsqueaks with blades…then you have to deal with all of us and our reports…jeez, how do you deal with Asuma smoking his reports, thinking it's a cigarette, and Kakashi's handwriting?" Anko asked, biting her tongue as soon as she remembered the forbidden topic of a certain silver-haired pervert. _Damn it…how do I keep forgetting about Kakashi!? That bastard…I'm going to have a little chat with him one of these days…_

"Naruto wasn't bad…just energetic…" Iruka replied, smiling. "And I've gotten used to those two and their reports…most of the time, I get someone else on their teams to hand in a second report and not even try with them anymore…" He studied Anko's expression, catching a wince cross the woman's features briefly. Iruka knew better than to ask about it, since she would deny it, so he just ignored the odd reaction. "Other than that, all I do is train with Mizutamari Mari and, now, Gai…"

"What exactly do you and Mizutamari Mari do?" Anko asked, trying to keep her curiosity out of her voice as she prodded into Iruka's personal life. She and Kurenai had spoken to a few other jounin and no one had ever heard of this mysterious person. If what Tsunade had told them to tell Iruka was correct, then all jounin should be informed that there was someone in the village who could be a danger to Konoha. "Tsunade-sama really didn't tell us too much." Anko, for the first time since finding out about her odd mission, felt happy in telling Iruka the complete truth – even if the chuunin didn't know exactly what she had (or hadn't) been told by the Hokage.

"Usually chakra training and working on or making up new jutsu…of course, most training ends with Mizutamari Mari telling me how he's mad I turned down the promotion to jounin years ago…" Iruka said, still slightly hesitant to tell Anko exactly what kind of chakra and jutsu work he and the demon did, even though the Hokage had told the jounin about Mizutamari Mari.

_Turn down…jounin promotion?!_ Anko had to force herself to keep her mouth closed as she looked at the chuunin. A jounin promotion wasn't something a person turned down. The only ways to become a jounin were through testing – which was done voluntarily – or through a direct request from the Hokage and the latter was very rare. The only request a Hokage had ever made for a chuunin to be upped to jounin rank, at least, that Anko could remember, was in the case of the Yellow Flash and that was a very special case – the Fourth had been the greatest shinobi to ever exist in their village. For

Iruka to have been asked by the Hokage to be a jounin – and _years_ ago at that! – was amazing…not to mention Iruka turned him down! _Years ago…but Iruka's not that old…_ "How old were you when the Sandaime asked you?"

"…um…thirteen, I think…" Iruka replied, not noticing how Anko lost control of her lower jaw as it dropped open. "I was taking care of Naruto and didn't want to be away from him on long missions…"

_The Fourth was almost twenty before the Sandaime made his request…_ "…y-you still turned him down!?" Anko couldn't help but exclaim, despite knowing about Iruka's sensitive ears. "That's an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Raising Naruto was more important at the time…it still is…" Iruka replied calmly. He had had much of the same conversation with the Third and Mizutamari Mari on multiple occasions. Was it so strange that he wanted to be there for his only family? "Now that Naruto's getting older, I'm thinking about testing…"

"You could just accept and you'd be made a jounin right now!" Anko pointed out. A request like that never 'went bad.' There was no point for Iruka to take an exam to prove himself – if a Hokage thought he should be exempt from the test, then there was no way his skills could deteriorate over the years…if anything, Iruka had to be even better than when the Sandaime asked him years ago.

"I know…but most people wouldn't believe I was that gifted…if I'm going to become a jounin, I want to prove myself to all of you…" Iruka said softly. Anko could understand his reasoning – if the jounin community thought Iruka wasn't worthy of his rank, they would make life hell for him.

"What did you do to get the Sandaime to ask such a thing?" Anko asked, curious to know where Iruka's abilities stood. If the young man was extremely adept at a certain type of fighting, she thought it better to know now rather than find out during testing or a mission – a surprise like that might just scare that jounin community into distrusting the brunette.

"My abilities…well, actually…that and my family's Bloodline Limit," Iruka replied, smiling at Anko's obvious surprise. She didn't have to state that she had no idea the Umino clan _had_ any kind of special abilities – it was quite clear from the raised eyebrows. Iruka smiled as he thought of something the woman might appreciate. "Let me show you…" Before Anko got the chance to reply, Iruka formed a lengthy sequence of gestures that, for the most part, were unfamiliar to Anko. As soon as he finished, he stretched across the table and touched her arm. Anko glanced down at the innocent contact, raising an eyebrow. "Hold your breath." That statement only got her to become more curious, but she followed Iruka's suggestion and took a deep breath. Almost as soon as she finished her breath, she felt her body be encompassed by an unfamiliar chakra. If she had to describe it, she would have called it dark, but that made no sense if it came from the sweet chuunin across the table from her. Anko looked up from where his hand was touching her and found that Iruka was disappearing before her eyes – no…not disappearing, but moving so quickly her eyes couldn't keep track of him.

Anko tried to follow the chuunin, but closed her eyes when her attempts started to give her a headache. She kept her eyes closed until she felt the chuunin's hand leave her arm and, at that point, she realized something was different about her surroundings – everything had suddenly become much colder. Anko opened her eyes and instantly blinked several times, but her view didn't change. She quickly turned her head to look to either side and found that the kitchen was gone, replaced by entirely unfamiliar objects. Her eyes followed a brightly colored creature as it shot by, her eyes not believing what she just saw. _A fish?_ She inwardly asked as she tested her surroundings, seeing that her body's movements were being restricted slightly – as though she was underwater. _But that's impossible…I can still breathe…_Anko pointed out to herself as she looked around again and found that her unusual surroundings must be what people on the coasts called coral. She had seen it in fish tanks in Konoha, but those few small pieces were nothing in comparison to the cities of it spanning as far as the eye could see. _What is this?_ She wondered, trying to think of when she was under such an elaborate illusion – especially one that she couldn't even detect. If she didn't know better, she would have thought this was the real thing.

_It's not an illusion._ Anko spun around when she heard a voice. Although it had a slightly different quality than usual, she recognized it as Iruka's. She thought about his words for a moment, wondering how it was he had spoken. She opened her mouth, but found it impossible to make a sound. Anko looked around and found the chuunin to be moving through the water lazily, yet more gracefully than she had ever seen a person move – it was as though he was completely at ease here. _You can't talk because no air is moving through your vocal cords…your thoughts are enough._

_Thoughts? Telepathy?_ Anko wondered, but she saw the chuunin shake his head as he moved closer to her. As he swam close enough for her to make out distinct features, she noticed something about him was different. After a moment of studying him, she realized he had large slits down the sides of his neck – gills?_ What is all this?_

_It isn't telepathy…thoughts, like sound, just travel better through water than air. And we're somewhere off the western coast. I found this place on accident one day…I was trying to get to the lake over by the training grounds…it took Mizutamari Mari quite a while to find me…_Iruka replied. Anko could see him smile and instantly noticed another difference in his features. His teeth were no longer _normal_ – they looked like they had been sharpened to points. For a moment, Anko had to bite back the fear of seeing something so unnatural. The only people she had ever seen with such sharp teeth were those of the Hidden Village of the Mist – at least, the traitors of the village. _Don't worry…it's part of a jutsu. It'll all wear off once we get back._ Iruka raised a hand for Anko to look at and she was surprised to see that his fingers were no longer separated, but joined by an almost transparent membrane. 

_How is this possible?_ Anko wondered, looking at Iruka suspiciously. The only people who had such control over water-based jutsu were from the Village of the Mist and she was quite sure Iruka's family wasn't from there. Up until now, she had assumed they had always lived in Konoha, but Iruka's unique abilities cried otherwise. A small part of the woman also wondered how much Iruka could hear if thoughts could travel through water – would he be able to figure out her secret mission?

_My family has an ability to control water. My ancestors fled from the Village of the Sea a long time ago – during a war – and came to Konoha. Since then, we've kept the Bloodline Limit a secret…not too many people in Konoha are trusting of shinobi who use water-based jutsu…or, at least, things more difficult than walking on water…_

_ I see…_Anko thought about Iruka's response and it made perfect sense to her. Water-based jutsu, to the majority of Konoha's shinobi community, weren't to be trusted – they were sneaky abilities; since water was such an abundant thing, it was almost impossible to sense such a jutsu. Anko thought back on all the people she had fought who used water-based jutsu and couldn't help but have a slight mistrust of Iruka's abilities. If he could, somehow, transport them all the way out here _and_ make it possible to survive underwater on a whim, there had to be far more dangerous things he could do with such abilities.

_I don't use my jutsu all the time…usually only to amuse and protect my students. Most of my old students are still trying to figure out how to make a water bomb…without any water-source or by pumping chakra into the water. It also comes in handy when a shuriken flies astray. But, to answer your concerns, yes, I do know far more deadly jutsu…I have never used them on a person, though, and I have no intention of ever doing so. _Even though Anko couldn't physically _hear_ the chuunin, she somehow knew that, if he had really been speaking, there would have been a twinge of hurt in his voice.

_ I didn't mean it like that, Iruka…it's just…all of this is…amazing…_Anko looked around again, catching a glimpse of a silver streak. Studying it more closely, she could see the large amount of shimmering color was actually an entire school of fish. They swam by as though the two shinobi weren't mere feet from them. _Something like this could never be taught, could it?_ She wondered, getting a nod from the chuunin. _Your entire family was wiped out in the Kyuubi attack…so how did you learn it?_

She could hear a flash of pain cross Iruka's face. Anko hadn't seen what happened to his family, but had heard from other jounin that his parents' bodies had been stripped of all their flesh before the brunette's eyes. No one should ever have to witness such a thing – especially a child. _Mizutamari Mari…after my parents died, he continued my training…if it hadn't been for him, I would have succeeded in killing myself after the Kyuubi attacked…_

Anko tried to hide her surprise at Iruka's admission. She had also heard from other jounin that, after his parents' deaths, Iruka wasn't mentally stable for a while. Gai had actually told her that, while under his watch, Iruka somehow got a hold of blades and, that when the weapons were found, they were coated in blood, but the boy was uninjured. She never thought that there might have been a chance that blood was Iruka's – no one, short of Naruto, could have healed so quickly. _What exactly is Mizutamari Mari?_ She wondered, her eyes widening when she realized what she had just thought. _Shimatta… _The chuunin gave her a strange look.

_What do you really know about him, Anko?_ Iruka asked, his normally gentle eyes hardening as he glared at her. Anko bit back a gulp, wishing she, just once, had some reserve in what she said – or thought. _You said Tsunade-sama told you about him…what did she say?_

_…just that you had trained with him…_Anko replied, trying her hardest to not think about her mission – the lies that Tsunade had given Kurenai and her to tell Iruka, the man's memory lapse, what Kakashi was to him…what he did…

_You can't lie in your thoughts, Anko…_

_ Iruka…please don't ask me any more…I've already told you more than I should have…_

_Will you just answer one more question?_ Iruka asked. He could sense the woman's dread – an all-consuming fear – at being confronted over her lies. Anko hesitated for a moment, thinking over his request, and nodded her head.

_I'll answer if I can…_

_ Am I forgetting something? _Iruka closed his eyes, praying that the woman would settle his internal battle. When he sensed she was holding something back, his heart had soared – if she was lying about something, it might have to do with whatever he _knew_ he was forgetting.

_You're forgetting a lot, Iruka…but, please, don't try remembering. It'll hurt you too much,_ Anko begged. Iruka could feel the pain that came with the woman's reply and knew that she wasn't lying or purposely hiding anything (besides whatever it was exactly he was forgetting). Iruka nodded his head and swam closer to Anko. Wrapping his webbed fingers around her arm, he brought them back to his apartment with a quick wave of his hand.

As Anko dropped to her knees, coughing up water onto the once dry wood floor – which was quite common when it was a person's first time under this specific jutsu. Iruka, however, calmly let the water bead off of him as he thought about what she had said. _If Mizutamari Mari thought it too painful and removed it from my memories…and apparently Tsunade-sama and some jounin must be in on it...they all must think that this is what's best for me. Maybe they're right in wanting me to forget…_

--

Authoress: sugoi!! 20 pages!! /squeals in fangirlish glee/ this is, probably, one of my favorite _plot_ chapters…(we all love the lemons, I know…)…I actually turned Kakashi and Anko into _PEOPLE!!_...and the more I write about her, the more I'm liking Anko…I just don't know why I've made her into a nice person…maybe because she has to be deserving to date our wonderful Iruka!! And people would question it if our sweet teacher was dating Satan's spawn…and, just to remind everyone…I mentioned Ino's aunt in an earlier chapter (when Iruka got those lovely plants)…kuku…it was hinted that she left for Orochimaru..and I don't care what anyone says, there's something similar between Ino and Anko's eyes…/twitches/ they're missing their pupils, damn it!!...anyways…I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and, please, review!! It gets us authors to write all that much faster!! So, until next chapter, ja ne!!


	16. Sayonara

Authoress: It's been far too long since I've written a new chapter to Underneath the Scars…so, here it is…a brand-new chapter…I'm keeping my rants short because I am itching to start writing…so, onto the story!!

Disclaimer: oh, hush…just because I don't own Naruto doesn't mean I can't destroy poor Kakashi's life…/sniffles/ sometimes I feel sorry for him…then I remember how much he hurt poor Iruka…

Chapter Sixteen

Iruka sighed in relief as he wrote a B- in red ink on the essay sitting on his desk. _The last one…_he thought to himself as he placed the thin packet of papers on top the pile of graded reports on the founding of Konohagure. As he wrote the B- into his grade book, Iruka glanced over the rest of the class' grades. Sadly, the best paper was the last one he read – the worst being Konohamaru's, which he gave a D out of pity for the poor boy. Iruka knew that Konohamaru hadn't taken much time to write his essay because he, along with the rest of his gang, had been all but living in the hospital as soon as they found out about Naruto's injuries. The three pre-genins had, most likely, forgotten about the papers until the morning they were due and wrote them during the rest of their classes. Iruka put the pen to his lips thoughtfully and imagined what his students would do if he started following the rest of the teachers' leads and collected papers and other homework at the beginning of the day instead of the end. Iruka shook his head, remembering all the times he had written papers and done homework the day it was due because he had put it off or forgotten about it. It wasn't fair to his students to change his policy all of a sudden…but he wondered if he threatened them, would they actually take the time to do work outside of school or if it would be anarchy. Then again, maybe it would mean they'd pay attention during his lectures…

Iruka pushed back his chair and pulled the drawer in front of him out. Placing his red pen back in the organized drawer, he looked around it and picked up the one thing that didn't belong in there. He studied the shuriken curiously, trying to find some characteristic that would label whose it was. For the past few days, he had been studying the blade more and more – having finally sunk to the point he brought the weapon into the academy to examine it whenever he had a free minute. _This shuriken has something to do with whatever it was I forgot…_Iruka thought to himself, knowing that Mizutamari Mari, along with a group of shinobi, was doing everything in his power to keep Iruka from remembering. Having already placed the blade as a jounin's weapon, Iruka tried listing all the upper-level shinobi who would, or could, have left a blade in his apartment…in his room, no less, but no name stuck out.

Sitting back in his chair, Iruka mentally went over his list of shinobi. It wasn't Gai's shuriken – he had asked the Green Beast if it was his yesterday – nor was it Kurenai's or Anko's. Iruka closed his eyes, remembering how he had snuck a blade out of each woman's pouch to study them alongside the one currently in his hands. Though it wasn't hard to take a shuriken from them, it was too difficult to replace it without them noticing, so Iruka kept them, knowing that neither woman would notice a missing shuriken. That thought, however, didn't stop Iruka from promising himself he would replace them given the chance. His efforts were for nothing, however; neither kunoichi's weapon matched this one – theirs were smaller and nowhere near as sharp or heavy. Placing the blade in his hand, Iruka could feel the blade's unusual weight. The only reason anyone would have a shuriken this heavy would be because they were using it for long-distance attacks and, for a person to actually throw the weapon such a distance, they would have to be extremely strong. Iruka sighed, knowing that that was one of the defining characteristics of the jounin community – physical strength was a necessity, so any one of them could throw this cumbersome blade, but Iruka doubted that many could throw it accurately.

Opening his eyes to examine the blade again, Iruka wondered what a jounin could have done that Mizutamari Mari would feel the need to wipe his memory of it. Even though Anko had told him several days ago that he was actually forgetting something – and not just going crazy – and a large part of the chuunin accepted everyone's decision to keep whatever this something was from him, a small, curious side of the brunette couldn't stand not knowing the nature of what he was forgetting. _If it's someone, and not a particular event, wouldn't I have bumped into them by now? Or wouldn't they come over one day…unless they're in on it too…but what could have happened?_ Iruka asked himself for what seemed to be the millionth time in the past few hours of grading papers.

Iruka sighed, remembering his visit with Naruto earlier today. He could see something in the teen's eyes that screamed Naruto was in on the secret, but he could also see the concern in the boy's blue eyes. _Something…or someone…hurt me…Naruto didn't say anything, but he was worried about me. He kept asking about my day, how I've been sleeping…how training's going…he never asks such mundane questions unless he's trying to hide something or is upset…_the brunette theorized, glancing down at the blade in his palm. Remembering the image he got when kissing Anko the other night, Iruka tried to recall who could possibly have dimples.

--

Kakashi leaned up against the door to Tsunade's office, waiting for the woman behind her desk to look up from whatever she was reading in the papers spread in front of her. From the neat writing, he guessed it to be some kind of formal report - from someone other than the jounin community, who were infamous for their terrible mission reports – but then saw the backside of one scroll and made out the symbol for Suna. _Diplomatic mission? I didn't know we had anyone in Suna right now…_he thought to himself as he watched Tsunade scribble something on a piece of paper next to the scroll she was holding up to read.

"I'm kind of busy, Kakashi…make it quick…" Tsunade stated as she slowly rolled up the scroll and placed it into an open drawer in her desk. Glancing over at the jounin, the blonde Hokage could see something in the man's visible eye that got her stomach to do flips. Even though she hadn't known Kakashi long, she could easily read the pain in his eye – an emotion she knew the heartless jounin didn't feel often.

"I'd like to request a mission…" Kakashi began, trailing off as he pushed himself off the door and walked toward the woman. Tsunade had to bite back the question she wanted to ask – why he wouldn't just go to the missions office, like everyone else? She knew there were many explanations behind that – the main reason being that Kakashi must have been feeling regret for what he did to Iruka if he didn't even want to go near the man's place of work.

"What kind?" Tsunade asked, hoping the silver-haired jounin would request a long-term mission to some far off village so she wouldn't have to worry about him meeting up with Iruka and destroying everyone's attempts to keep Iruka from remembering what Kakashi did to him.

"As long as it's outside the village, I don't care…" Kakashi admitted, the tone of his voice making Tsunade's blood run cold. She could clearly hear the pain his eyes reflected, but there was something more to his words – he wanted to get away from the village, away from Iruka. He didn't want to be near anything that reminded him of the chuunin he hurt so badly.

Tsunade couldn't help but become curious at the unspoken admittance from Kakashi's tone. _Why would he want to get away from Iruka? He's the one who betrayed poor Iruka…Iruka didn't do anything to him…_the Hokage thought to herself. "Is this about Iruka?" she asked softly, receiving a surprised look from the jounin. "Don't act innocent, Kakashi…I know what happened between you two…why did you do it?"

Kakashi knew better than to ask the busty woman how she knew about such a private matter – Tsunade had her own sources and, if Iruka himself didn't tell her about it, he was sure someone else did. Maybe she got the information from Naruto, if not from Iruka himself, Kakashi wondered. Instead of asking what he was thinking out loud, he settled for sighing as he looked down at his gloved hands as he tried to think of a good reason to give her, since he knew she wouldn't rest until he answered her. "He deserves better than me…" Kakashi admitted softly. Tsunade could hear the truth ringing in his voice and, if it wasn't for the fact she wouldn't be able to check her strength at the moment, she would get up and smack some sense into the jounin.

"Baka…" she mumbled, receiving a raised eyebrow from the jounin. "Of course Iruka does…especially after what you did…but, for some reason none of us understand, he adored you…" she added, watching as Kakashi's shoulders slumped. He obviously caught the past tense when she referred to Iruka's feelings towards him. "I'll grant you your request, Kakashi, just because I don't want you around Iruka anymore…you've hurt him more than enough…" Tsunade watched as the usually emotionless jounin looked away, his characteristic stoicism crumbling as he digested her harsh words.

"I know…" Kakashi replied quietly, remembering the image of Anko and Iruka. He had taken advantage of Iruka in a moment of weakness, but if Iruka was seeing Anko, why had he been toying with the jounin for months? Remembering their first kiss, Kakashi took a sharp gasp of air – Iruka couldn't have faked the attraction he obviously felt for him, could he?

"Lucky for you, I need a diplomat in Suna to help control the chaos the late Kazekage's death caused. They are still discussing who should be elected as the next Kazekage and there is a very good chance the Kazekage's son, Gaara, will be chosen," Tsunade stated calmly, catching the surprise in Kakashi's eyes.

"They'd vote for a demon container?" Kakashi asked, momentarily forgetting his problems with a certain chuunin to imagine what it would be like with a demon for a village leader. He had to admit that the boy was extremely powerful, but he was just a child – and an evil, bloodthirsty one at that! The thought of a person influenced by a demon ruling made Kakashi wonder if, with time, people like Naruto and Gaara – and whatever Iruka was – would one day be accepted for what they were.

"They will vote for a powerful, intelligent shinobi who would be able to rule well," Tsunade retorted, offended at Kakashi's immediate description of the boy for not only Gaara's sake, but for the sakes of those people unlucky enough to be demon containers, but, most of all, for Iruka. She could tell from Kakashi's expression that he was thinking about the chuunin – and that there was still some mistrust because of Iruka's unique abilities.

"He is still a child," Kakashi pointed out, taking a step towards the Hokage. Talking about the future Kazekage thankfully took his mind off Iruka and, perhaps if he took this mission, he would eventually forget the reason his heart ached.

"Only physically…people like Gaara and Naruto never had a real childhood…they were forced to grow up too early…" Tsunade said quietly, her tone hinting at another person who hadn't had a normal life in some time. Kakashi could only look away from the woman as he tried imagining Iruka's childhood – no living family of his own, responsible for a baby who contained the most powerful demon to exist…having to take multiple jobs so he could take care of the blonde. Kakashi sighed, wondering what it must have been like for Iruka to be refused a visit with Naruto simply because he hadn't formally adopted the boy. Iruka was the only family Naruto had ever known and the blonde idiot was the only family Iruka had left alive. "I think Gaara is just the person to rebuild Sunagure. They need a change after everything that's happened to them…"

Kakashi thought about Tsunade's statement for a moment and found himself partially agreeing with the woman – what better way to recreate a village than to take away fears and prejudices that had been destroying it for so long by making someone like Gaara Kazekage? Perhaps, one day, Konoha would have enough trust in a certain blonde to make him the Hokage. "What would I be doing?" Kakashi asked softly, the idea of living in Suna as a diplomat starting to appeal to him.

"Mainly, you would act as an advisor to Gaara, but you would also be a bodyguard, secretary, and whatever else he requests. You're one of the few jounin I know that understands politics enough to be trusted with a diplomatic position," Tsunade admitted, glancing over at the man and saw as his face fell at the mention of politics. It was then she remembered that Iruka, once you got him on the topic of politics, wouldn't stop unless you taped his mouth shut.

"And sending a famous jounin like me would also show how much Konoha favors Sunagure – that we would join them should anyone think of attacking them while they're still this weak," Kakashi added quietly, knowing that, if he accepted the mission, he would be little more than a pawn to further Tsunade's agenda in creating lasting relations with Suna.

"That's one of the many reasons I've been considering you for this for some time," Tsunade stated truthfully. Even before she found out about Kakashi and Iruka, she had been thinking about asking Kakashi about going over to Suna to help rebuild the village. "If you do go, you better remember you're there representing our village, Kakashi…"

"How long?" Kakashi asked, ignoring Tsunade's subtle comment on his infamous characteristics of perversion and laziness, as he looked around the room. He didn't need to verbally say he would take the mission; he knew Tsunade could read his expressions well enough to know he was jumping at the chance to leave.

"Months, maybe longer…you'll be allowed visits back here once Suna is stable, but don't expect to return for at least six months or so, unless Gaara comes here," Tsunade said, a very large part of her pleased at the length of the mission. Perhaps half a year would be enough to get Iruka to come to terms with what Kakashi did – and then, just maybe, they could get Iruka to remember what happened and have Kakashi return and beg for forgiveness. Tsunade smiled at the image of Kakashi on his knees, making a love declaration that would make even the jaded romance novelist weep. "You have a week to make whatever arrangements you need to and to say goodbye to Naruto." From the curious look she got from the jounin, Tsunade guessed Kakashi hadn't visited Naruto in the past few days. "He and Jiraiya are leaving to train for the next three years…"

"Iruka…" Kakashi couldn't imagine the chuunin letting his beloved son/brother leave when he was in such danger, especially for such an extended period of time. Then again, Naruto would be with one of the most powerful shinobi to exist, so perhaps Iruka wasn't worried for the blonde's safety.

"He wants what's best for Naruto. And that, right now, is to become stronger and learn to control the Kyuubi before the Akatsuki comes after him again," Tsunade replied, hoping Jiraiya would succeed in teaching the stubborn teenager and that , when Naruto returned, he would have the strength to protect himself and, just maybe, be able to bring his best friend home.

Kakashi thought about Tsunade's words for a moment, and then nodded his head. It made sense to have Naruto leave the village for so long – the training he would need to do would be dangerous to not only the brat, but everyone in the area, so it would be best to find an uninhabited place to go to. Remembering his own training with Sasuke, Kakashi wondered exactly how Jiraiya was able to keep Naruto from destroying nearby villages when teaching him the Rasengan. "I'll be ready by the end of the week," he stated softly as he took a step towards the woman's desk, taking the scroll with Suna's symbol that she held out for him. Realizing that he was now going to leave the village for some time, Kakashi felt a moment of numbness – the first time in the past few days that his chest didn't feel heavy or his eyes fill with tears at the thought of a brunette chuunin.

"Maybe when you come back, you and Iruka can patch things up," Tsunade said quietly, hoping that such a thing would be possible, despite the danger of Iruka remembering and being unable to cope with the resulting pain. The chuunin deserved to be with the man who, though he was an idiot and unable to figure out his own emotions most of the time, obviously loved him. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from gasping when she realized that fact about Kakashi. It wasn't just a crush, lust, or any other shallow emotion on the jounin's part; he loved the chuunin to the point he couldn't live in the village anymore because of the pain he felt whenever he thought of the young teacher – the ache that came whenever he recalled what he had given up because he thought Iruka deserved better than him. "Just tell me one thing, Kakashi…do you regret what you're doing?"

Kakashi, who was on his way to the door, froze at the Hokage's question and that moment of numbness shattered as he recalled why he was leaving – escaping would be a better term to describe his desperate attempt at getting away from anything that reminded him of what he was giving up. Thinking about her question, he slowly turned to look at her. "I regret taking advantage of Iruka …for hurting him…but not for leaving. He and Anko deserve to be together without any interference from me," Kakashi replied so softly Tsunade had to strain herself to hear his admittance. His words and the truth behind them hurt the blonde more than the realization she was destroying any chance Kakashi had to win Iruka back – at least for some time.

"I wish you luck on your mission, Kakashi," Tsunade commented as she watched the jounin turn back towards the door. She didn't have to tell him that she hoped he would become less emotionally-incompetent while in Suna – her pitying tone told him what she thought of him.

Without another word, Kakashi let himself out of the office and quickly left the Hokage Tower before Tsunade felt like asking him anymore questions that would open the still raw wounds he had inflicted on himself by being such an idiot as to hurt the kindest man to exist.

Tsunade waited until she could no longer feel Kakashi's chakra before sitting back and letting herself sniffle. The agony in Kakashi's face and defeat that the man's entire body radiated was painful for her to watch and, for a moment, Tsunade felt sorry for the jounin. Whatever he must have been feeling would have to be destroying him, but Tsunade had to remind herself that Kakashi did all this to himself. _Why couldn't he just accept Iruka's love? It couldn't have been because of Mizutamari Mari…but what would have gotten Kakashi to pretend like he feels nothing for Iruka when it's so obvious to everyone else that he and Iruka are meant to be together?_ Tsunade thought about what Kakashi's reasoning could be and sighed in defeat when she realized the silver-haired pervert must have rationalized his decision like so many other jounin did – he didn't want to fall in love because of the pain it would bring. Most jounin hid their feelings to protect those they cared for; others denied their feelings so that, if and when they died on a mission, those they secretly loved wouldn't be devastated. Instead, the jounin community made themselves into masochistic martyrs in order to save others from pain. _Idiots…the lot of them…_Tsunade thought with a sigh as she sat back and began wondering if therapy should become a necessary part of jounin life. _Maybe I'll suggest it at the next council meeting…_

--

"Oi, Iruka-sensei!" Said chuunin stopped walking and turned around when he heard his name and Iruka found himself breaking into a smile when he saw his favorite blonde tearing down the street in order to catch up with him. Naruto launched himself onto Iruka, clinging to the brunette's chest, as Jiraiya slowly shuffled his way down the street. Iruka wrapped one arm around Naruto, trying to ignore the sadness at the realization that the blonde and his sensei were leaving today on their three-year journey.

"Jiraiya-sama," Iruka greeted the older man, who waved in return, watching the blonde boy still attached to the chuunin. _Three years…what am I going to do without Naruto around?_ Iruka wondered as he tightened his grip around the teen. Naruto, knowing exactly what was going through the brunette's head, looked up at Iruka and smiled.

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei…you're gonna be busy enough with all your jounin training that you won't even miss me," he stated matter-of-factly as he slowly let go of Iruka's middle. Naruto smirked, remembering that the next scheduled jounin testing was in a few months. "And you only have a little while before the test…you'll be cramming like I did for your exams," he added with a laugh. Iruka couldn't help but smile at Naruto's good mood. The boy was so excited about leaving the village and going to train that the sheer length of the journey hadn't hit him yet. So much would happen in three years…

"How did you know I was thinking about entering the upcoming test?" Iruka asked curiously, getting a sly smirk from Naruto. The boy didn't have to say anything – somehow Naruto either conned someone into telling him or he snuck into the Hokage Tower to read private files. Iruka would bet it was the latter – it sounded far more like Naruto to something so illegal and near-impossible that no one would believe he ever did it in the first place. The only question Iruka had was how did Naruto get past Tsunade? Last time he snuck into an off-limits room in the Tower, he had used his Sexy no Jutsu to distract the Sandiame, but Iruka had the feeling that jutsu wouldn't have the same effect on Tsunade.

"Ero-sennin and I have been working on a variation of Sexy no Jutsu," Naruto admitted, answering Iruka's unasked question with that simple statement and an evil grin. Iruka chuckled while inwardly being mortified – nothing good could come out of Naruto making a new jutsu with his perverted teacher's help. Iruka could only imagine what the two came up with since Naruto had already perfected his harem a long time ago. "Oh, I got you a present, Iruka-sensei…" The blonde slid his backpack off and went sifting through the messily packed bag before finally pulling out a rectangular box that had the gaudiest, largest neon orange bow Iruka had ever seen tied to it. Obviously Naruto wrapped it himself considering the color of the ribbon and the fact the wrapping paper couldn't be seen underneath the thick layer of tape covering it.

Iruka chuckled as he took the box from the blonde and studied it for a moment. "Naruto, you didn't have to get me anything…you're the one going away," he pointed out as he tore his eyes away from the hideous box to search through his jacket. Finding what he was looking for in his inner breast pocket, Iruka pulled out two _neatly_ wrapped boxes and handed them to the boy.

"What are they, Iruka?!" Naruto asked as he went to work quickly tearing off the paper from the larger of the two boxes. Even before the first piece of wrapping paper, which now resembled confetti, hit the ground, Naruto had the first of the boxes open and was squealing as he hugged his new change purse that was, much like his old, raggedy one, in the shape of a frog. Iruka smiled as the boy showed Jiraiya the red frog that looked quite familiar to those Jiraiya was used to summoning. Wondering when the teen would figure out the purse was full, Iruka watched as Naruto packed it deep into his bag then went to work on the second box. This time, Naruto examined the contents of the box with curiosity. He gently picked the glass bottle out of the mountain of cotton it was nestled in and studied it in the light. The glass' dark blue color made it almost impossible to tell what was inside, so Iruka took a deep breath before explaining it.

"It's for summoning. If you ever need me or Mizutamari Mari, just put a few drops of that in water – and preferably a large body of it, not a bowl or something – and we'll be there in seconds," Iruka said with a smile. He could just imagine Naruto dropping that bottle into his ramen, scaring everyone in the ramen stand when a demon and a chuunin fly out of his bowl. The boy gave him a questioning look and Iruka knew that further explanation was needed. "It's my blood and works similarly to a summoning scroll. Also, because Mizutamari Mari and I are connected by both chakra and blood, he'll feel the summoning too." Iruka added, catching Naruto's wince at the mention of blood.

"Didn't it hurt?" Naruto asked as he shook the bottle, guessing it would take a few minutes of moderate bleeding to fill a bottle this size. Also, the teen knew about Mizutamari Mari's protective jutsu that was placed on Iruka years ago – the jutsu that wouldn't allow Iruka to hurt himself. If Iruka had nicked himself to collect his blood, the cut would heal almost instantly, which meant he must have had some help.

"No, it didn't," Iruka replied, smiling at the boy's curious gaze. "Anko helped me…though she was hesitant to cut me at first…" he added with a chuckle. The kunoichi wasn't simply hesitant, but downright opposed to the idea of cutting him deep enough to collect blood to fill the bottle. It wasn't until Iruka took out a kunai and sliced deeply into his own hand that she would even consider helping him. She had to study his hand for several minutes, searching for any injury other than the faint scar across his palm, before believing that Iruka couldn't harm himself. It was only then she nicked his forearm and, even then, it was such a shallow cut, it took forever to fill the bottle Naruto now held. Naruto gave him a disbelieving look, so Iruka held out his left arm, letting the teen examine the pink contusion that ran across his forearm.

"You didn't have to, Iruka…" Naruto said softly as he looked at the bottle again. _I can call him whenever I want…but this is probably just for emergencies…_he thought sadly, shaking the bottle. Iruka and Mari probably wouldn't be too happy if he summoned them for every little thing or whenever he missed them…

"Yes I did…I would go through withdrawal if I didn't know I could see you for the next three years," Iruka pointed out as he opened his arms as Naruto launched himself at him. The teen sniffled softly into his jacket, which only got Iruka's lower lip to quiver. Before he lost control on his tears, Iruka quickly added, "and I demand you summon me at least once a month, no matter where you are. I want to see how you're doing and make sure you're eating enough and wearing clean clothes and-"

"Irukaaaaaa…" Naruto whined childishly into the chuunin's jacket before Iruka could continue to make up things he would have to check each visit. He had seen Naruto wear clothes for a week straight before washing them and the blonde had a bad habit of drinking milk that had gone sour some time ago, so he thought he was rightfully worried about the teen going off with the sannin. Despite the man's famed abilities, Iruka wondered if he was able to take care of himself, not to mention a teenager as hyper as Naruto.

"Alright…but promise you'll summon me every now and again?" Iruka asked as he tightened his arms around the blonde. Naruto nodded his head into Iruka's chest, sniffling once more before pulling away enough to look him in the face.

"I promise…and thanks for the money," Naruto whispered, shifting his eyes over to Jiraiya, who was studying the women walking by, ignoring their whole conversation. Iruka smiled, remembering the last time the two shinobi went on a trip and Jiraiya used up all Naruto's money.

"You're welcome…and if you run out, I'll give you more," Iruka said just as quietly as the blonde. Taking a deep breath, Iruka took a step back and released Naruto. Looking back at his present, Iruka shook it gently. "What did you get me?" he asked curiously as he glanced down at the blonde and caught the toothy grin Naruto gave him in response.

Assuring himself that it was something he could open in public and not be mortified, Iruka took out a kunai and began slicing the tape away. Once he had finished releasing the box from the casing of tape, Iruka opened the long package and quickly pulled the neatly tied scroll out. "A scroll?" Iruka asked as he tucked the box underneath his arm and started to untie the dark ribbon that kept the scroll from opening. "Is it a jutsu?" he wondered aloud, unable to think of anything else Naruto could get him that would be written on a scroll. The brunette fell silent as he unrolled the piece of parchment and his eyes scanned over the official-looking document.

Naruto waited several seconds, watching Iruka read through the scroll, before speaking. "I guess I can call you Dad now, ne?" he asked, his voice quivering with emotion as Iruka's eyes remained glued on the adoption papers. From the direction of the chuunin's gaze, Naruto guessed Iruka was looking at those few words that Naruto had memorized when he had first gotten his hands on the papers. _I, Umino Iruka, hereby adopt Uzumaki Naruto as my son…_Naruto thought to himself, his eyes watering because of the significance those few words held for him.

"B-but how?" Iruka finally choked out as he tore his gaze away from the scroll to look at the teen._ My son…_Iruka thought, trying out Naruto's new, _legal_, relationship to him and found his lower lip quivering with emotion.

"I made Baa-chan pull a few strings…all you have to do is sign and I'm yours," Naruto said, trying to sound cheerful, but his voice quavered as his own words hit him with the reality that the document in Iruka's hands brought with it. He now had a _family_ and no one could ever take that away from him. He didn't have to live in fear that someone would come and take him away from his apartment and throw him into foster care because they thought he was too young to live on his own. No longer would he and Iruka have to fight with the hospital every time one of them was admitted for something. No, now he could be a normal teenager, with the love and protection of a real father. Realizing that the man standing in front of him, his eyes welling up with tears, was now, in every sense of the term but biological, his _father _got Naruto to momentarily lose the ability to breathe.

"My son…" Iruka whispered as he looked up from the adoption papers and saw Naruto gazing at him with wide eyes. From the amazement in the boy's face, that concept – of finally being a true family – had hit Naruto just as hard as it hit him. Iruka glanced back down at the papers, his eyes too blurry to read the characters neatly printed on them, but just the knowledge that he held them was enough. Iruka never thought that this piece of paper legalizing his adoption would ever make much difference, but he now realized how wrong he had been. Now, he could call Naruto his son without getting any odd looks from those who didn't know the unique relationship he and the blonde held. By signing this paper, he could take care of Naruto far better than he ever could now and, with a quick look at the boy, Iruka could see how much Naruto had craved for a real family – one that he didn't worry about losing or being taken away from on a daily basis.

Iruka only had to move his arms slightly for Naruto to understand his meaning and the teen flung himself back into the chuunin's embrace, hugging his father for the first time. Jiraiya couldn't help but watch the two shinobi sniffle, then outright cry, as they tried out their new titles for one another. The novelist smiled at the pair, his spirits being lifted as he saw Naruto happier than the teen had ever been. This moment was worth all their begging (and other favors on his part) had to do in order to get Tsunade to help them legalize Naruto's papers. First was the problem of keeping all of this a secret from Iruka – which was a feat in itself. Background checks and financial records were easy enough to retrieve without the brunette's knowledge, but the necessary examination of his home – to make sure it was an acceptable living environment for Naruto – was quite difficult. Thankfully Anko was in on it and took Iruka out for a day of ramen taste-testing so that the man wouldn't happen to sneak home and see strange people in his house. The other problem they ran into was the sheer number of forms and approvals they needed. Though Tsunade had people working around the clock, she had warned them it might take some time, so Naruto had actually told him they couldn't leave until he got his papers legalized. For the past few days, they had been sitting around, all packed up, waiting for word on when the last of the official processes would be finished. It was by sheer luck that Naruto got the papers back today, the day he had told everyone they would be leaving. The moment the scroll arrived at his apartment, Naruto had seen the need to shoot across the village and wake up Jiraiya in order to show him the parchment that, at four in the morning, Jiraiya couldn't even begin to read. The only thing he could remember saying to Naruto was to put a very interesting part of the teen's anatomy in a blender for waking him up so early, then to go wrap the scroll up for Iruka. _Maybe I should have supervised his wrapping…_Jiraiya thought to himself, but then shook his head. Iruka had loved his present, despite the fight he had with the tape.

"Oi, brat, we should be going!" Jiraiya hated to break up the little love-fest he was watching, but he knew that they would have to be walking for some time today if they wanted to reach the next village by dark. He gave Naruto one rule that they would follow all three years – he would NOT sleep outdoors if there was a village in a day's hike. _I'd rather be sleep deprived for a day, but sleep on a nice bed the next night…less chance I have to deal with that idiot first thing in the morning…_he theorized as he repeated his statement, this time yelling it at the weeping pair. Rolling his eyes at their watery display, Jiraiya waited for the two to separate, still blubbering.

"Be careful with your training and make sure you summon me often," Iruka demanded, his lower lip still quivering as he released Naruto from his arms. The teen nodded in agreement, then sniffled and wiped his cheeks and nose with a sleeve of his jacket.

"I will…Dad," Naruto replied, sniffling again at the idea of Iruka being his father, but deciding he liked the ring to it. Iruka whimpered in response to Naruto, still coming to terms with being the boy's father. Without warning, Iruka wrapped his arms around the teen and hugged him tightly.

"I'm going to miss you," he admitted quietly into the teen's hair. Taking a deep breath, his nose picking up Naruto's shampoo, along with a scent that he had come to know as the blonde's – a scent that he never thought he would miss smelling. Iruka bit his lip to stop himself from crying again.

"Oh, this is too much," Jiraiya complained loudly as he walked up to the two. Taking a hold of Naruto's midsection, he fought to pull Naruto away from his father and, once he had detached his student, he swung the teen up over one shoulder, despite Naruto's squirming and loud demands to be put down. Waving once more to Iruka, Jiraiya turned and began walking towards the village's gates, the screaming teenager punching his shoulder and attempting to kick himself free as they continued walking down the street. Strangely, everyone gave Jiraiya a wide berth when they saw (or heard) the blonde up on his shoulder.

Naruto judged how far they were from Iruka and guessed the man was still within hearing distance, so angled his head so his mouth was right next to the sannin's ear and, at the top of his lungs, screamed, "I LOVE YOU, DAAAAAAAAAD!!" While Jiraiya cursed colorfully at the ringing in his ears, dropping Naruto to the ground, a chuunin across the village who had gone back to looking at the scroll in his hands, smiled and repeated the words softly, directing them at his son.

--

A/N: I know this isn't how things happened in the manga or anime…but it's _my story_ and I think that Iruka and Naruto deserve to be a family!!

--

Kakashi leaned against the gate that separated Konohagure from the rest of the world, remembering Tsunade's demand that he say goodbye to his student before leaving for Suna. Of course, the jounin had forgotten about that until he had walked through this exact gateway, packed and ready to hike through forest and sand to reach Sunagure. He would have meandered back to Naruto's small apartment, but when he had turned around to return to the village, he caught a glimpse of the blonde and his famed teacher walking towards the gate. From the surprise on Naruto's face, he hadn't been expecting a goodbye from Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto waved happily, acting as though the past awkward week hadn't happened. Kakashi knew that the blonde still harbored some harsh feelings against him, and for good reason, but Naruto's attitude right now revealed none of them. Instead, he was unusually bouncy, but his eyes had a red tint to them. The color of his eyes, along with the puffiness surrounding them, screamed that Naruto had been crying, but why would he be so happy?

"Maa…leaving already?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly as the two shinobi reached the gateway, Naruto restless as ever as he shifted the weight of his backpack to the other shoulder. The blonde nodded energetically while Jiraiya sighed in exasperation. Kakashi could only feel pity for the old man – no one should be punished with three years alone with the blonde.

"Un. What about you, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, glancing at the jounin's small pack. He had been wondering why he hadn't seen the jounin all week – and why Kakashi had never came by to wish him luck with his training like everyone else did – but had chalked it up to everything that had happened between the jounin and Iruka. He guessed Kakashi would have felt uncomfortable around him after the things the teen had said to the jounin when he was still in the hospital. _Baa-chan said Kakashi was taking all this pretty hard…and that I could have gone easier on him…she said he did what he did because he didn't want to hurt Iruka...that's some messed up logic…_Naruto thought to himself as he watched the jounin push himself off the gate. _Wonder what he'd do if he knew Iruka's now my father…_

"I'm going to Suna…" Kakashi replied, ignoring the pang of pain that ran through him as he took a look back at the village. It had never been this hard to leave on a mission before, but then again, he had never taken a mission to escape the village before. _Coward… _Kakashi thought to himself as he smiled at the blonde, masking his self-reproach with a fake cheerfulness.

"Say 'hi' to Gaara for me," Naruto said, guessing exactly what Kakashi's mission was. After taking a glimpse at the jounin's file while he was looking at Iruka's, Naruto knew precisely why the jounin was leaving the village. The file said he was going on a mission that would take an indefinite amount of time in Suna. Though the mission itself wasn't mentioned anymore than that, Naruto knew the jounin was going to act as a diplomat to help Suna elect another leader since the last Kazekage was assassinated. And, since Gaara and his siblings were the Kazekage's children, the blonde knew Kakashi would have quite a bit of contact with them. Though it wasn't mentioned, Naruto had a feeling Kakashi requested the mission because of its length and the fact it required he leave Konoha.

"I will." With that, Kakashi turned to leave, but stopped himself when he felt a twinge of regret. He turned back to look at Naruto and couldn't help but relive those few moments when he thought he had been too late to save the teen. In those few seconds, he could see all his own failings staring back at him – being too weak to save the person that meant the most to you…not being able to protect a teammate or tell someone how you felt about them until it was too late."Good luck with your training…" he added, watching as the boy's eyes widened in surprise. Obviously Naruto hadn't thought he would wish him luck – was he really that heartless? Impulsively, Kakashi took a step towards the boy and brought a hand up to the teen's golden locks. Ruffling his hand through Naruto's perpetually messy hair, Kakashi took a deep, steadying breath. "Make sure you become strong enough to bring Sasuke back…" Catching the man's visible eye, Naruto saw something that made him wonder if he was going crazy; for a moment, Naruto swore he saw himself. Thinking about his teacher's position, Naruto could see that their situations weren't all that different. While Kakashi was running to become emotionally stronger, Naruto was doing it for physical strength. The jounin lost his chance with Iruka, much like Naruto did with Sasuke, in a short period of time. Kakashi obviously saw their similarities – his tone hinted at something more than just getting Sasuke back.

"You too, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said softly as he smiled at the jounin. Kakashi, momentarily, looked surprised at Naruto's words – a subtle approval of a possible relationship with Iruka in the future. Even if it was only friends, Kakashi knew he would be fine with it…he just needed some time to get over the brunette. He, again, turned to leave, but this time nothing stopped him. Watching Kakashi's retreating figure until he could no longer be seen through the thick forest, the teen chuckled.

"What the hell was that?" Jiraiya asked, wondering why the silver-haired man's words had affected the blonde so. He momentarily thought about asking if Kakashi and Iruka had somehow patched things up, but hesitated to mention the boy's adoptive father. He didn't want to chance unleashing another bout of waterworks. They already had to stop twice for Naruto to cry – once when they passed by the academy and another time when they passed by a ramen shop.

"A promise…" Naruto stated cryptically, getting a smack in the back of the head from his teacher for his smart-ass answer. "Itaidattebayo…" he mumbled as he rubbed his head. Momentarily glaring at Jiraiya, Naruto started walking through the gateway in the same direction as Kakashi did only moments before. "Oi, Ero-sennin…I think I've got an idea for your next pervy book…"

"Eh?"

"It'll probably end up being a saga, but these two people are hopelessly in love with each other, but don't realize it and just keep making mistakes and stupid decisions in trying to deny their feelings and distance themselves from one another…" Naruto replied as he slowed down until the novelist caught up with him.

"Sounds like hell…" Jiraiya admitted as he glanced down at Naruto as they set a brisk pace. "Why can't they just admit their feelings to one another?" he asked, wondering how much the boy understood about adult relationships.

"Because they're afraid of getting hurt…they're both so scarred from earlier experiences. Also, they're afraid of opening up because they don't want the other to know who they truly are," Naruto answered philosophically. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, wondering if his student was actually as stupid as he made everyone think he was. Shaking such a thought from his head – Naruto couldn't be a genius…an idiot-savant, maybe, but the thought of the blonde being a genius who hid behind a mask of stupidity just scared Jiraiya – especially since he was stuck with the teen for the next few years. Recalling the last part of Naruto's statement, Jiraiya wondered what he could mean by 'who they truly are.' The sannin didn't have to verbalize his question; the boy saw the curious look on his face and continued, "They are frightened they will scare the other one away…so they both hide aspects of themselves that they're not proud of."

"How does it end?" Jiraiya watched as Naruto's expression turned thoughtful – a rare event in itself. The boy chuckled and shook his head before giving the old man a devious grin. Jiraiya knew that smile well enough that he knew his student was up to something, but he was curious to know how Naruto imagined things would end between his father and Kakashi, since that was obviously who the teen was talking about.

"I can't tell you or else I'd ruin the ending," Naruto pointed out, laughing at Jiraiya's crestfallen face. "But I'm getting the feeling it'll be a happy one…" For once, Jiraiya hoped his student was right about something. Tsunade told him what had happened between the two men – along with Iruka's delicate condition and the reason behind sending Kakashi off – so all the sannin could do was wonder if Kakashi would realize the priceless gift he had given up, race back to Konoha, and, hopefully, Iruka could forgive him.

"And what would you call this story of yours?" he asked, a small part of his mind wondering if such a story – years from now, when they knew the real ending, of course – would be a possibility. _Perhaps it is time to finally start a Yaoi series that's not just a PWP…_he thought to himself as he waited for Naruto's response.

"'Underneath the Scars.'"

**Owari**

Authoress: whoo! Done with another chapter!...I'm sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than usual but, since I realized I've hit sixteen chapters (and that this story is insanely long), I thought it'd be good to split the story up into two parts. Also, I'm planning on making a noticeable jump in time for the next chapter, so I think it'd be easier to **start anew with a second part to the story** (I bolded that for those of you who don't read the rants too often). I have a pretty good idea for the title to the second installment, "Scars Fade," but I might rethink it by the time I get the next chapter done, so everyone will have to watch out for an new story update – thinking about it, I'll also put up a note on Underneath the Scars when I put it up, so everyone'll know when I finish it! Yooosh!! /squeals/ I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far (and I, personally, really liked this chapter…so much brighter and more hopeful than most other chapters…/smiles evilly/ and the hint that things will get better later…and if Kakashi doesn't realize he's an idiot soon, _I'm_ gonna be the one to smack some sense into him!) So, my wonderful reviewers, please, please review so I'll know where to start next time!! Until the next installment, ja ne!!


	17. Authoress' Note on Sequel

August 29, 2008

I've got the new story up...everyone, may I introduce you to 'Scars Fade'!!

Summary:  
SEQUEL TO UNDERNEATH THE SCARS! As a shinobi, Kakashi is bound by an oath to protect Konoha, but when he takes that oath too far and hurts the one person he wants most to protect, he discovers that even the kindest person can have his demons Kakashi/Iruka

Please read and I hope you enjoy!!


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